Mannequin of "female figure of the laboring class" or peasant woman", labeled on bottom of foot "Tokio Ningiocho" and "Nedzumiya Denkichi". Clothing for this mannequin is cataloged under 92430A and B. The 1880 Guidebook to the Smithsonian exhibits - Rhees, William Jones, 1830-1907. Visitor's Guide to the Smithsonian Institution And National Museum, Washington, D.C. [Washington]: Judd & Detweiler, Printers and Publishers, 1880 - describes Japanese mannequins on p. 75 – 76 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101025795889&view=1up&seq=85 “WALL AND ALCOVE OR UPRIGHT CASES . CASE 1 . - Dressed lay figures of Japanese man and woman of the agricultural class. Made in Japan for the Institution . Note: Exhibit mounts (from loan to Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto) stored with object.
"Nedzumiya is the name of a studio of Iki-ningyo artisans and Denkichi is the name of an artisan."
Detailed information on color digital photos of mannequin: Neg. #2004-21251 - view of front of mannequin; 2004-21252 - legs; 2004-21253 - eyes; 2004-21254 - profile of head; 2004-21255 - right hand; 2004-21256 - left hand; 2004-21257 - view of back of mannequin; 2004-21258 - artist name; 2004-21259 - feet; 2004-20491 - front view of mannequins 92429 and 92430 together; 2004-20492 - back view of mannequins 92429 and 92430 together. New black and white negatives have been made of old black and white Smithsonian exhibit photos of 92429 and 92430: 2004-19706 is view of 92429 and 92430 dressed in their clothing; 2004-18708 is view of 92429 and 92430 dressed in their clothing in an exhibit case with two sets of Japanese armor; 2004-18709 is back view of 92429 dressed only in undergarment. 8288 is a black and white glass negative of 92429 and 92430 dressed in their clothing.
From Anthropology Conservation Lab Condition Report, 2004, see ACL files for additional information: The life size female mannequin is anatomically correct and realistically modeled. The mannequin is one piece though made from several parts as indicated by x-rays. The mannequin is free standing though there are two rectangular holes in the bottom of the heels that would have been used as an original support. The x-rays show these holes go all the way up the legs to the top of the thighs. The body of the mannquin has been modeled by layers of paper (paper mache technique, paper with a black Japanese character was noted in a loss on the back of the male mannequin E92429 proper left arm) and wood to approximate the size and shape. Paper is called "Hogo" meaning waste paper, which usually used for the stuffing of doll making. The arms, legs, torso and head are hollow. The feet, hands and head are carved from wood to approximate the size with the final shape and definition executed in paper. In the torso wooden plugs were used at the base of the neck and base of the legs joined by a square rod running the length of the torso. The hollow arms were fitted with a plug near the arm pit that fit into the torso. The paper mache arms and shoulders were nailed to the wooden plugs with square nails. The legs have a plug at the top of the thigh and a hollow wooden square rod running down the center (this is for the original support). The legs are nailed to a second wooden plug in the top of the thigh and then into the wooden plug that fits in to the torso. The legs appear denser in X-rays and maybe are more solidly constructed of paper mache to support the weight of the mannequin. The head is made of two carved pieces of wood joined with nails. There is a metal plate under the top of the head and a metal wire inside the head. Her eyes are made of glass. The modeling was completed in paper mache. In an area of loss in the proper right arm, a plain woven fabric was seen between the gesso layer and paper mache, and it is unclear if this fabric was used over the entire body to improve adhesion of the gesso layer or used only around joints to improve strength. A thin gesso layer (calcium carbonate) was applied over the surface overall and painted. The hair on the head is first placed into a "wig" in rows then attached to the head. The eyebrows, pubic hair and eyelashes were made by adhering hair to thin inserted strip then adhered in rows. The eyelashes strips were attached to the interior of the eyelid. The under arm areas are painted black to represent under arm hair. A white rectangular label attached to the bottom of the proper right foot is oxidized. It is about 7.2 cm x 5.5 cm and reads "(missing, but supposed to be; T)OKEI NINGIOCHO, NEDZUMIYA DENKICHI', appears to be the place's name in Tokyo and the artist's name. In 2004, a sample of wood was removed from the attachment hole in the proper right foot for analysis by Harry Alden of the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute. The wood was identified as Japanese Arborvitae (Thuja standishii.)
This accession is recorded under the year 1878, and that appears to be when the noble male and female mannequins # 92426 and 92427 were commissioned and received. Note that the mannequins of the male peasant rice farmer and wife #s 92429 and 92430 appear to have been commissioned earlier, and included in this accession. The Anthropology catalogue ledger book entry for the farmer and wife lists a collection date of 1875. P. 76 of the Smithsonian Annual Report for 1875 records a donation of "Lay figures of Japanese farmer and his wife" as received from Horace Capron. P. 53 of the U.S. National Museum Annual Report for the year 1893 also talks about mannequins 92429 and 92430 as having been received in 1875, and illustrates them in Plate 42 (both mannequins) and Plate 43 (92429 only), after p. 52. See also p. 75 in Rhees, William Jones. 1880. Visitor's guide to the Smithsonian Institution and National Museum, Washington, D.C., Part 3 [Washington]: Judd & Detweiler, Printers and Publishers. The farmer and his wife mannequins are described as being on display in Case 1. A photo of Smithsonian exhibits in 1880, which includes an exhibit case with the farmer and his wife mannequins, is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution Archives: Photo ID: SIA Acc. 11-006 [MAH-4492], SIA Acc. 11-006, Box 014 - United States National Museum. Division of Graphic Arts, Photographic Collection, 1860-1960, Smithsonian Institution Archives, https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_arc_391403 .
