A FINE AND LARGE WOOD OKIMONO OF ONO NO KOMACHI

A FINE AND LARGE WOOD OKIMONO OF ONO NO KOMACHI
Japan, 19th century
Ono no Komachi, one of the great six poets of the 9th century, once a beautiful and vibrant woman is depicted here as an old woman seated on a grave marker (sotoba), her beauty faded and wearing tattered clothes. Forgotten by the courtly world in which she once shone, she is reduced to beg and starve on the side of the road. The carving is well-detailed, her face enhanced by particularly expressive features: squinted eyes, wrinkles, and a sharp chin. Her loose robe opening at the chest revealing her emaciated body, an old, tattered straw hat rests on a stone next to the poetess.
LENGTH 18.8 cm
Condition: Few repairs to the area connecting the boulders and hat, otherwise in good condition and presenting very well.
Ono no Komachi was a Japanese waka poet, one of the Rokkasen (six best waka poets of the early Heian period) and was renowned for her extraordinary beauty. Several legends tell of her mistreatment of her many lovers. In the arts, she is often depicted as an old, withered hag and has thus become a symbol of the impermanence of beauty.