*THIS ITEM WILL SHIP VIA EMS EXPRESS TO ALL AVAILABLE DESTINATIONS.

This listing is for a set of five Gonin-bayashi court musician dolls dating back to the early 1930s.  They were created for Mitsukoshi Ginza Department store and belonged to a local family here in Setagaya in Tokyo.  Their costumes are made of silk and are in excellent condition considering the age of the dolls.   The dolls faces and limbs are painted with gofun pigment and their eyes are made of carved bone.  Each doll is seated on a wooden stand decorated with lacquer.  According to various blog entries these dolls were possibly made by Maruhei Ooki Doll shop in Kyoto.  We had trouble arranging the dolls for photos, we couldn’t figure out which instruments belonged to whom.  The wooden drum sticks we think don’t fit in any of the dolls hands, so we’re not sure if they’re simply placed with the drum or not.  Some doll displays have the drum placed on the shoulder of the doll, however this set has a drum stand so we assume the drum is displayed there, and therefore we still don’t know where the drumsticks belong.  Those of you who are more knowledgeable about hina displays will no doubt be able to set the dolls up correctly.  The dolls come with their original wooden storage box and their faces were wrapped in soft gauze for protection.  They were very well taken care of.

Hina ningyo are ornamental dolls displayed during the annual Hina matsuri on March 3rd. This is a day to pray for young girl's growth and happiness, and most families with girls display these dolls and eat special kinds of food. The dolls are usually arranged on a five or seven-tiered stand covered with a red carpet. At the top are the Emperor and Empress. The next tier contains three court ladies, followed by the five musicians, then two imperial guards, and finally three servants ending the bottom row in a five-tiered display. The display also includes small pieces of furniture, small meal dishes, and little lanterns.

Sizes

Box:  H.18.3cm (7.2”) x 38cm (14.9”) x 21.3cm (8.3”)

Dolls:  Average height is 11cm (4.3”) x 11.5cm (4.5”) across x 9.6cm (3.7”) from back to front

Tall Drum:  H.13.7cm (5.3”) x 6.7cm (2.6”) across

Condition

The wooden box is discoloured, spotty, and has scratches/scuffing.  Also the wooden strip along the left side of the box is loose (please see the last photo).  The faces of the dolls were covered so they are in beautiful condition.  Their hair and clothing are also in great condition.  The lacquer on the stands is a little cloudy and it has minor peeling in places (edges/corners).  The small drum stand may have been glued at some stage, the tall drum has only very minor wear.  There are two strips of wood in the box, they were probably attached to the box at some stage.

THESE ARE SHIPPING ESTIMATES BASED ON THE CURRENT GLOBAL SITUATION                                                                 

**Germany, France, Greece, Spain, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Lithuania, Slovenia:  NO SHIPPING.  Very strict and expensive packaging laws in place and we are not licensed to send products to these countries.  We have no plan to register at this time because the process is in some cases very expensive and complicated, plus each country has its own set of regulations and application process. 

**USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway:  EMS Express 7-10 days.

**Asia:  EMS Express 3-5 days.

**Central Asia, Middle East, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico:  EMS Express 10-15 days.

**Russia:  No shipping methods available.