土偶|Head of a Clay Figure (Dogū)

Unknown

Date unknown · Earthenware · Asian Art

This head was once attached to a dogū clay figure, a kind of ceramic sculpture particular to the Jōmon period of Japanese history. The vast majority of dogū are not found intact, most having their heads or limbs removed or bodies broken. It is unknown exactly why dogū were broken before being discarded, but some theories contend that the dogū represented a kind of “earth mother” figure, and that breaking the dogū propagated the spirit of the “earth mother” in order to bring fertility to the land.

Artist

Unknown

Date

Date unknown

Medium

Earthenware

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975