This is a fabulous Japanese doll of a Chinese baby called an ichmatsu doll. It is made of composition (mixed materials inside the body) and gofun on the face (a sticky oyster shell paste.It is 6 inches tall and and jointed legs so it can sit up (please see all the photos). Despite the cracks there is still charm and beauty to this little doll, and a clear amount of age, probably Edo period,
Named after Sanogawa Ichimatsu, an 18th c. Kabuki actor who specialized in female roles, Ichimatsu dolls are an Edo era invention. They portray little Japanese and Chinese girls and boys in their holiday silk kimonos and are sometimes commissioned by the rich as portraits of their children. There were competitions for who could make the best doll. They were also given as prized gifts.
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