This doll completely breaks my heart I find her so beautiful, her body sewn together in a fantastic, layered and tactile patchwork of odds and ends, with the wild woven passage over her chest being my favorite, though the sweetly hand-embroidered cloth of her arms and lower body is pretty wonderful too. And then this very sensitively carved wooden head, which to my eye gives her a look of wisdom and self-possession, framed by green and black checkered head cloth, with black paint for the eyes and brows, and deep rose paint over the cheeks and mouth. Her ethnicity and origins are a bit elusive--I can really find no other out there quite like her; her head has a bit of an Inuit feel, and a bit of a Southeast Asian one too; I might guess she is Japanese, with the patchwork of textiles forming her body feeling very very wabi sabi to me. Much better in person--photos don't give a great sense of the warmth of patina on her wooden head especially.
10 inches tall by 4 1/2" wide with arms tight in. Overall very good condition, early-ish 20th century I would guess, with plenty of wear all over, very much to the good. The end of her nose has taken a few knocks, which I think just makes her better. Under her dress, her body is constructed like a pillow. It does seem that she previously lived in a house where there was smoking; I am storing her in a box with baking soda to ameliorate it, but if you are smell sensitive, please note.
