Amusing wooden turned and painted depiction of two rather devilish looking armless figures with a bottle of sake between them and a Japanese folding screen as background. We believe that they are a twin depiction of the historical Bodhidharma, known as Daruma in Japan who lived sometime in the fifth or sixth century AD and is commonly considered as founder of Zen Buddhism. Dolls in the shape of Daruma were always very popular in Japan because they were said to protect children against illnesses, were supposed to facilitate childbirth, bring good harvest and more generally bring prosperity to their owners. This depiction dates from the early 20th century. Width 12.1 cm. Height 5.3 cm. Depth 6 cm.