A JAPANESE HINOKI WOOD FIGURE OF A FEMALE SHINTO DEITY

A JAPANESE HINOKI WOOD FIGURE OF A FEMALE SHINTO DEITY, SHINZO

KAMAKURA OR LATER

Carved from a single block of cypress wood, ichiboku-zukuri, the kami depicted kneeling and holding a large jewel before her, wearing long robes with voluminous sleeves in the fashion favoured by ladies of the court, with a serene expression on her face and a gentle smile, with faint traces of gesso and pigment, 22cm.

Provenance: the collection of an English gentleman, acquired from Spink.

Cf. C Guth Kanda, Hachiman Imagery and Its Development, p.86 no.76, for a comparable female kami with traces of polychromy formerly in the Hosomi Collection and now owned by William Wolff. The author explains that this type illustrates a trend popular from the Kamakura period on for shinzo of chunky and squarish bodies with small heads.