Noh Ittobori Old Couple of Takasago, Box
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NAME: Noh Ittobori carving of the "Old Couple of Takasago" in original wood box
MAKER: The box is signed and stamped on the inside cover.
SIZE: Jo is 8-3/4", Uba 8-1/8"
CONDITION: Uba (female) has heavy wood age spots and a crack in the wood on her haori (jacket) lapel that extends into the kimono. A little paint has chipped off the cracked area on the haori.
NOTES: Briefly, Ittobori is a carving technique. The name literally means "one chisel cut". You can see the angles made by the chisel, they are not smoothed out. An art form that goes back hundreds of years, the most popular subjects are Noh and the 12 Animals of the Zodiac.
The "old couple" is a noh play. The man's name is Jo and carries a rake and his wife is Uba with broom in hand. They symbolize long life and happiness and these story dolls are often given as wedding gifts. He rakes in the good, she sweeps out the bad. The rake and broom heads should always be pointed upward (unlike the picture!).
Very fine set with much detail. It is a scene from the noh play as they are wearing masks. Their mouths are open and they have gold painted teeth. Their costumes have fine (small) hand painted patterns.
The box indicates age, probably 1st half of 20th century. The figures were stored well.
This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 21 October, 2010.
