Early Showa Japanese Ceramic Hakata-Style Ningyo Doll, Ura-e Art Statue of Sleeping Lovers Beneath a Crane Quilt, Hidden Shunga Underside
Early Showa Japanese Ceramic Hakata-Style Ningyo Doll, Ura-e Art Statue of Sleeping Lovers Beneath a Crane Quilt, Hidden Shunga Underside
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
- United States · usually 4–7 days after dispatch, insured and tracked Check the Shipping Flowchart here
- Import
Duties and customs · View the estimate
A guide for this piece: about $72, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
The final figure is set by US Customs and depends on where the piece was made and the kind of object it is. Many antiques over a century old carry no ordinary duty; most jewellery and leather goods add a single-digit rate.
With EMS, any charge is collected by your postal service on delivery. For pieces of significant value we can often arrange duties prepaid before dispatch.
How the estimate is reached · Ask for a figure on this piece
- Character
- Ornate 7.6 of 10 ·
- Replies
- Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
- Guarantee
- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 18.0 cm | 7.1 in |
| Height | 9.0 cm | 3.5 in |
Every piece is measured by hand, in centimetres as Japan measures. Please allow 1–2 cm (about ½ inch) for the give of the material and the hand that held the tape.
Where each figure is taken · View the plate
Object, sculpture and ceramics
Condition report
Very Good
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
A Quiet Scene with a Secret
Two lovers drowse beneath a quilt painted with a great white crane, his shaven pate against her elaborate coiffure. Turn the figure over and the private scene of the ura-e is revealed, a wry joke kept underneath a picture of perfect decorum.
Best for: Collectors of Japanese dolls, okimono and hidden shunga objects
Condition notes
Light rubbing to the paint and some colour transfer from age, as described; no breaks or serious damage seen. Painted faces, coiffures and robe patterns remain crisp.
Grades, ratings and commentary are given to the best of our ability, knowledge and experience, and condition remains partly a matter of personal perception. What we stand behind without qualification is authenticity, truthful description and provenance, to the best of our knowledge. How we grade
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Considered offers only. The Desk replies personally to figures made in good faith; those set far below the asking price receive no reply.
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An early Showa figure of two lovers asleep beneath a quilt painted with a great white crane, modelled in the manner of the Hakata doll makers, with a concealed shunga scene beneath.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
From above, all is propriety. A man with a shaven pate and a woman in an elaborate coiffure lie side by side, eyes closed, under a lavender quilt painted with a white crane in flight, emblem of fidelity and a sly guardian of the secret. His robe is indigo; hers are layered in ochre check over red hemp-leaf, with flowered ornaments in her hair. The faces have the soft, pale finish of Hakata dolls.
The secret lies underneath. Turned over, the figure reveals an ura-e, a hidden picture: the lovers' intimate embrace, modelled and painted on the underside. Such concealed scenes belong to a long tradition of humour in Japanese erotic art. The figure is described as an early Showa adult curiosity.
Details
- Form: Ura-e okimono, a figure group with a concealed scene beneath
- Material: Painted fired clay, as it appears
- Period: Early Showa period, as described
- Width: About 18 cm (7.1 in)
- Depth: About 14 cm (5.5 in)
- Height: About 9 cm (3.5 in)
- Made in: Japan
Measured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 0.5 cm (0.2 in).
Condition
- Light rubbing to the paint and some colour transfer from age.
- No breaks or serious damage seen.
- The white panel on the underside photograph was added in photography for discretion and is not part of the figure.
Condition grade B (very good) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Offered as an early Showa painted figure, as described; unsigned, and the date is not independently certified. Dust with a soft dry brush; keep from damp and sun.
Delivery from Japan
The figure is double boxed in tissue and foam and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything you wish to know before you buy, and see our published policy.
Considered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally. Further pieces of the kind are kept in Shunga and Hidden Arts and among our Japanese dolls.
Concierge
Searching for other hidden-scene dolls or okimono? Our Hunting Salon™ locates such pieces across Japan's private collector circles, then inspects, documents and delivers them to you. Begin a Hunting Salon™ request.
Collectors also search: Hakata ura-e doll · hidden shunga figure · Showa erotic okimono
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