Gauntlet Gallery — Complete KAWS Index
Companion (Five Years Later) — Brown
Work Summary & Collector Notes
Companion (Five Years Later) in brown is a 2004 painted vinyl figure produced by Medicom Toy in Japan, standing roughly 15 inches tall. Released five years after the original 1999 Companion — hence the title — it is the first dissected Companion: one half of the body remains the familiar cartoon exterior, while the other half is cut away to reveal a stylized cross-section of skull, ribcage, organs, and musculature. The brown colorway pairs the Companion's natural brown exterior with brightly colored anatomy on the exposed side. It was a limited Medicom production run, widely cited at around 500 pieces per colorway, with stamped markings on the underside of the feet reading MEDICOM TOY 2004 and the KAWS copyright.
Collector notes: Legacy catalog label: Limited; total quantity was not documented in the saved record. Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Why It Matters
The dissection motif introduced here became one of KAWS's defining moves — it later scaled up into the monumental sculpture and painting series and spread across nearly every character he makes. Five Years Later is where that idea first took physical form, which makes the 2004 figures foundational objects in his catalog rather than just early toys. It also dates from the Medicom era, before KAWSONE existed, when KAWS releases were genuinely scarce Japanese productions rather than open editions.
Collector Perspective
Interpret this one's market data carefully. WorthPoint logs 41 sales with a median of just $35 and a range of $6.90 to $1,512 — a spread that does not describe one market. The low end is dominated by keychain-scale items, damaged or partial lots, and almost certainly fakes; genuine, complete 2004 Medicom examples with the correct foot stamps transact toward the top of the range. Latest recorded sale was November 2025. For a figure this frequently copied, provenance and the stamped markings matter more than the asking price.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned sculpture / object
- Release date
- 2004
- Release-date note
- Catalog-listed release year from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.
- Medium and materials
- Vinyl Figure.
- Edition details
- Legacy catalog label: Limited; total quantity was not documented in the saved record.
- Signature and marks
- Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Documented History and Meaning
History note: This page treats KAWS's broader career as background context, not proof that this specific edition belongs to any single exhibition or event. Release-level facts here come from a saved secondary catalog record.
Meaning / interpretation: No per-work artist statement is recorded for this edition. Any thematic reading should be treated as interpretation of the imagery, not a documented statement of the artist's intent. This interpretive note follows the cited artist or publisher context.
Release context: The saved catalog lists 2004.
Authentication, Presentation and Provenance
- Original presentation
- Original packaging or presentation was not documented in the release sources reviewed.
- Authentication note
- Compare the support, dimensions, edition number, and signature against a documented example of this edition. Gauntlet Gallery does not authenticate works purchased from third parties.
- Provenance note
- Edition origin is attributed in the saved record to the release source named in the saved record. That does not establish the ownership history of an individual copy: retain the original invoice, reseller or gallery paperwork, labels, correspondence, and condition photographs.
Sources and Verification
Verification status: Secondary catalog snapshot; artist-level context added
- KAWSONE — official site — KAWS studio · primary artist source · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Official artist site; career context, not an individual-edition record.
- KAWS — Wikipedia · reference encyclopedia · Accessed 2026-07-13 · General artist-level biographical and career reference.
- KAWS (Q3194367) — Wikidata · reference knowledge base · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Structured identifier used for the artist across catalog metadata.
Market Context
- Estimated value. The median of recorded public sale prices for this piece, matched by title and colorway. We use the median (not the average) because it resists outliers.
- Min / max sale. The lowest and highest individual recorded sale prices; the range shows dispersion, not a guaranteed band.
- Recorded comps. The number of independent comparable sales; reliability rises with sample size (1–2 sales are indicative only).
- Liquidity & sales volume. Our liquidity rating reflects sales velocity — the number of recorded comparable sales and how recent the latest sale is. More frequent and more recent sales rate as more liquid (Highly Liquid → Liquid → Moderate → Thin → Very Thin); a piece with no recorded public sales is Extremely Rare.
- Indicative estimate. Where recorded sales are very limited (1–2), the figure is treated as indicative only — not a firm market value; a single sale can move it materially.
- Estimate confidence. A traffic-light read on how well the data supports the estimate: green high, yellow medium, red low / indicative.
- Data source & currency. Compiled from recorded public marketplace and auction sales of US$200 or more, in US dollars, as of the latest recorded sale shown. Coverage is not exhaustive.
- Not financial or investment advice. For collector reference only — not an appraisal, offer, or guarantee of resale value. Art is volatile and illiquid; do your own research. Use is subject to our Terms & Conditions.
FAQ
What does Companion (Five Years Later) depict?
The Companion character with one half of its body dissected — the exterior cut away to expose a stylized skull, ribs, and organs. It was the first appearance of the dissection concept that now runs through KAWS's entire practice.
What is the edition size?
It was a limited Medicom Toy production run from 2004, widely cited at around 500 pieces per colorway, though the figures themselves are not numbered. Treat any seller claiming an exact numbered edition with caution.
Is the figure signed by KAWS?
No, it is not individually signed. Authentic examples carry stamped markings on the underside reading MEDICOM TOY 2004 CHINA with the KAWS copyright; some examples on the market were later hand-signed, but that requires separate documentation.
Why do sale prices for this figure vary so wildly?
Recorded sales run from under $10 to over $1,500 because the data mixes miniature and keychain versions, damaged pieces, and fakes with genuine full-size 2004 figures. Complete authentic examples trade near the top of that range, which is why buying from a trusted dealer matters here more than for most KAWS vinyl.
How does this relate to the original 1999 Companion?
The title marks five years since the first Companion figure, produced with Bounty Hunter in 1999. The 2004 release revisits the same character at larger scale and introduces the dissected treatment, effectively restarting the Companion as an evolving sculpture subject.
Related KAWS Works
