Miniature Jōmon Shakōki Dogū Figurine

A tiny, finely detailed replica of Japan's famous "goggle-eyed" clay figurine, in a warm copper-brown finish. The huge oval eyes are slit with bright yellow lines. He wears a crown-like topknot and has stubby arms, a wide-hipped body and sturdy little legs, with swirling spiral and dotted patterns carved all over, front and back. Small enough to balance on a fingertip, he makes a great curiosity for a desk, a bookshelf or a collector's cabinet.

The original was made in Japan's Jōmon period, around 1000 to 400 BC, and excavated at the Kamegaoka site in Aomori. It's now an Important Cultural Property at the Tokyo National Museum. Its name, shakōki dogū, means "light-blocking device figurine", because those enormous eyes reminded archaeologists of the snow goggles traditionally worn by the Inuit to protect against snow glare.