Artwork Page for Haniwa Figure of a Female

Details / Information for Haniwa Figure of a Female

Haniwa Figure of a Female

巫女形埴輪

500s

Japan, Kofun period

(300–710 CE)
Medium
earthenware with traces of pigment
Measurements
Overall: 58.4 x 30.5 cm (23 x 12 in.)
Credit Line
James Parmelee Fund by exchange 1962.39
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

Figures in a variety of dress including military and ceremonial garb start to appear on Japanese earthen mounded tombs called old mounds (kofun) from the 400s to 500s CE. This fragment depicts a woman with red triangles on her face and wearing jewelry. Archaeologists speculate that the facial markings had a ritual or symbolic function, perhaps indicating she is a female shaman. Many figures of this kind have been found in digs in the Kanto region of eastern Japan. We can only guess at the meaning of the clay cylinders called haniwa.
An earthenware bust depicts a fragmented woman facing forward, her arms severed at the shoulders to reveal dark, hollow interiors. Slit-like eyes and a mouth pierce her flat, terracotta face, brushed with remnants of faded red pigment on each cheek. She wears a chunky, beaded necklace and a simple garment draped diagonally across her chest. A thin, rectangular form rests atop her head, flanked by sharp, protruding shapes at the sides.

Haniwa Figure of a Female

500s

Japan, Kofun period (300–710 CE)

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