Identifying Japanese dolls: Notes on Ningyō - Hardcover

Lea Baten's unique and resourceful book assists in the identification of the familiar and unfamiliar figurines known as ningyo, and explores the roots of the word itself. This book not only identifies and describes ningyo, detailing their history and meaning, but also contains a comprehensive index and one of the most extensive bibliographies on the doll motif ever published in English. Scholarship, clear illustrations, and a touch of humour guarantee a fresh and original approach to known and unknown ningyo.

Lea Baten (?-2005), an international authority on the dolls, folk toys, and games of Japan, wrote three books and numerous articles on the subject, and contributed the section on Japanese ornamental dolls to the prestigious 34-volume Grove/Macmillan Dictionary of Art. She studied painting and art history at the Academie des Beaux Arts, Brussels, and was responsible for organising many remarkable exhibitions on various Asian and other arts during her 13-year tenure as vice-president of the Cultural Centre of the Abbey of Affligem, Belgium's oldest Benedictine Abbey.