Laughing Daruma Warai-e Ceramic Okimono with a Hidden Scene Beneath, Painted Small Container, 6.9 cm
Laughing Daruma Warai-e Ceramic Okimono with a Hidden Scene Beneath, Painted Small Container, 6.9 cm
- 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 $43, 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 6.8 of 10 ·
- Replies
- Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
- Guarantee
- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 6.9 cm | 2.7 in |
| Height | 4.0 cm | 1.6 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
Bodhidharma Has the Last Laugh
Daruma, the patriarch of Zen who sat facing a wall for nine years, here roars with laughter, eyes rolled heavenward and gold rings in his ears. Turn him over and the joke is revealed: a painted intimate scene framed in bands of blue, green and red, the classic warai-e wit of the hidden arts.
Best for: Collectors of Daruma figures and warai-e humour
Condition notes
Small areas of paint loss and light soiling consistent with age, mostly on the red body and the rim of the base. No cracks or chips described or seen.
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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A small painted ceramic Daruma, roaring with laughter, that turns over to reveal a warai-e joke painted on its base.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
Daruma, the Indian monk Bodhidharma who brought Zen to China and is said to have sat facing a wall for nine years, became one of Japan's most loved figures: a round, red-robed symbol of perseverance and good luck. Popular craft made him the butt of affectionate jokes too, and the hidden-scene Daruma is among the best of them.
Here the patriarch lies face up on his round red body, head thrown back in a full-throated laugh. His glossy brown face is modelled with care: heavy brows and moustache drawn hair by hair, white eyes rolled to heaven, a row of teeth in a wide open mouth and gold rings in his ears. The open mouth leads into the hollow body, and the piece is described as a small container.
Turn him over and the reason for the laughter appears. The base is painted as the opened hem of a woman's robe, in bands of blue stripes, lilac, red and green around a pale centre, with an intimate scene modelled in low relief: the knowing humour of warai-e, the laughing pictures, in which the sacred and the sensual meet with a wink.
Details
- Subject: Laughing Daruma with a hidden scene on the base
- Genre: Warai-e joke figure (okimono), small container
- Material: Painted ceramic, the face glazed
- Height: About 4.0 cm (1.6 in)
- Width: About 6.9 cm (2.7 in)
- Depth: About 6.8 cm (2.7 in)
- Made in: Japan
Measured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 0.5 cm (0.2 in).
Condition
- Small areas of paint loss and light soiling from age, mainly on the red body and the rim of the base.
- No cracks or chips described or seen.
- Every photograph is part of the description.
Condition grade B (very good) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Offered as an older painted ceramic figure; unsigned, with no maker or date recorded. Handle with dry hands and keep away from damp.
Delivery from Japan
The figure is wrapped in tissue, cushioned and boxed, then 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. Kindred pieces are kept in Shunga and Hidden Arts and among our okimono, figurines and statues.
Concierge
Collecting Daruma or the hidden-scene wit of Edo and Meiji craft? 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: hidden scene Daruma · warai-e okimono · erotic Japanese folk ceramic
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