Head from a jar
Life Story
This large Kamegaoka-type head is a fine example of burnished earthenware. Traces of red pigment (haematite or cinnabar) are present over the entire piece, particularly on the upper rim and the top of the ‘goggles’. The rim is composed of clay coil decoration, with a small hole above the forehead. The jomon pattern is very’ clear on the frame of the ‘goggles’. A break through the left eye has been repaired; the nose is abraded. The back is plain and the average thickness is 3-4 mm.
Entry taken from Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection 3 volume catalogue, edited by Steven Hooper (Yale University Press, 1997).
Provenance
Formerly in the collection of Mitsuru Tajima (Sugimoto, 1987: no. 25). Published in Takiguchi (1960: no. 34), where it is described by Noguchi Yoshimaro as the fragment of a bowl-shaped jar with human face decoration, excavated from Tsukimitai Hamadate, Aomori city, Aomori Prefecture, Honshu, and dated to the beginning of the End (sic) Jomon period.
Not on display
Title/Description: Head from a jar
Born: 1000 BC - 0400 BC
Materials: Earthenware
Measurements: h. 95 x w. 155 x d. 77 mm
Accession Number: 953
Historic Period: Jomon period (Final) (c. 1000-400 BC)
