This object is a Kokeshi doll from Japan. Kokeshi dolls, which consist of a lathe-turned joined wooden cylinder body and sphere head, are still made, as they have been since ca. 1800. They were made originally as souvenirs of the Tohoku hot-springs area, but also as offerings to the gods.
There are a certain number of "classic" kokeshi styles, distinguished by experts through slight variations in shape, construction, and painting. The basic kokeshi idea, however, has been explored by artists in many ways, so that one finds nesting kokeshi, rounded neckless kokeshi, kokeshi with the addition of bamboo hair and sometimes kimono, and kokeshi positioned in little scenes of daily life or of legend.
http://www.oberlin.edu/allenart/education/asia/kokeshi/Default.html
http://www.indiana.edu/~japan/LP/LS14.html
http://www.japanya.co.uk/Kokeshi.aspx history
http://www.dollsofjapan.co.uk/kokeshi-doll.html
http://www.sbgmath.com/gr4/403p117/403p117_inx0.html webquest on Kokeshi
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