Lea Baten's resourceful book assists in the identification of the familiar and unfamiliar figurines known as ningyo, and explores the roots of the word itself: both meanings, "doll" and "human shape", are associated with play and ritual, life and death. These dolls are not necessarily just playthings with pretty faces, but range from mass-produced, trivial toys to true art pieces and imposing ceremonial ornaments. Materials vary: they can be made from stone, clay, paper, and wood; or brocade, ivory, peral and lacquer. Many of the enormous variety of ninygo may be considered pieces of an unsolved puzzle that are in danger of disappearing without ever having been totally understood in the West. This book investigates the numerous meanings of the "human shape" in Japanese culture, from pre-history to the present, and explores the many, varied and subtle connotations ningyo have for the Japanese. It not only identifies and describes ningyo, detailing their history and meaning, but also contains a complex index and one of the most extensive bibliographies on the doll motif ever published in English.
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About the Author
Lea Baten is an international authority on the dolls, folk toys and games of Japan. She has written three books and numerous articles on the subject, and contributed the section on Japanese ornamental dolls to the prestigious 34-volume Grove / MacMillan Dictionary of Art. She studied painting and art history at the Académie des Beaux Arts, Brussels, and was responsible for organizing many remarkable exhibitions on various Asian and other arts during her 13-year tenure as vice-president of the Cultural Centre of the Abbey of Affligem, Belgium's oldest Benedictine Abbey.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Japanese doll book,
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This review is from: Identifying Japanese Dolls: Notes on Ningyō (Hardcover)
This book is a very good and quite thorough overview of different types of Japanese dolls; better than average information.
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