Rare Vintage Sosaku Kokeshi by Issetsu Kuribayashi, Japan.

Graceful vintage kokeshi made by Issetsu Kuribayashi (1924-2011).

This kokeshi stands out for its delicate, elegant design.

This is a rare kokeshi by Kuribayashi. Only one example is known of many kokeshi made by him.

Dimensions: height 33 cm, diameter 4.5 cm.

Kuribayashi-san was born in Yonezawa City in 1924. Around 1955, he began producing Creative Kokeshi. Hailing from Yonezawa City, Kuribayashi-san is considered one of the founding fathers of the Sosaku-Creative movement. His dolls have won every major award over the years and are featured in the Nuremberg Toy Museum in Germany, along with fellow Sosaku artist Watanabe Masao in 1979. Many of his works were unique creations. "Yuzuriu", "Mugen", and "Kareha" are all prize winners from the 1960s and '70s. In 1970, his work "Mugen" was exhibited as representative art of the specialization in Sosaku Kokeshi and displayed at the Government Pavilion of the Japan International Exposition. He was the president of the Yonezawa Miyuki Association and a member of the Nippon Kokeshi Artistic Handicraft Association.