A wonderfully expressive vintage Sōsaku Kokeshi set from the Tōhoku region of Japan, depicting a mother and child in a charming combination of turned wood and traditional woven materials.
The larger figure wears an impressive hand-woven straw hat, accompanied by slender implements tucked alongside her body, evoking the appearance of a woman from a rural farming community. Her cylindrical woven covering is worked in deep brown and vivid red, while simple white painted details decorate the wooden body.
Beside her stands a tiny child, similarly dressed in a miniature woven garment and topped with a small black headpiece. The difference in scale gives the pair an especially tender, almost narrative quality. Unlike conventional kokeshi made entirely from wood, this unusual piece incorporates straw and plant-fibre weaving directly into the design. Such experimentation with local materials is characteristic of the freedom of the post-war Sōsaku Kokeshi movement, in which makers moved beyond established regional kokeshi forms to create individual sculptural works inspired by Japanese landscape, everyday life and folk culture.
The rustic woven textures, restrained hand-painted faces and warm natural wood give the pair a distinctly Tōhoku folk-art character, recalling the agricultural traditions and handmade objects of northern Japan. Particularly delightful is the carefully constructed straw hat, whose open weave can be appreciated from the back.
