Japanese Hand-painted Porcelain Daruma Figure tall lidded copper box handwoven on a backstop loom

handwoven on a backstop loom

These trains (scroll through all photos to see the complete set) I purchased at the estate sale of a family in Newburyport

and certainly admire the resourcefulness and creativity of its maker in piecing these bit together in such a smart and striking way

such that I would likely just find a good place to display it--and turn it around occasionally to get a different view

Japanese Hand-painted Porcelain Daruma Figure tall lidded copper box handwoven on a backstop loomThis curious character is an antique Japanese porcelain Daruma figure. There are a wide array of Daruma out there, modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, and typically depicted as a red robed bearded man, as he is here. This is about my favorite example of all I've seen, with a wonderfully expressive face, wide nose, and painted eyes directed skyward, plus he has these finely and emphatically painted eyebrows, beard and chest hair.