Artwork Page for Haniwa in the Form of a Shield

Details / Information for Haniwa in the Form of a Shield

Haniwa in the Form of a Shield

c. 500

Japan, Kofun period

(300–710 CE)
Medium
Earthenware with applied, cut, and incised designs and red slip
Measurements
Overall: 120 x 48.7 x 18 cm (47 1/4 x 19 3/16 x 7 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 1999.170
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

Haniwa (clay cylinders) topped with the form of a shield, or with a shield and quiver of arrows, appear on some tomb mounds called kofun (old mounds). There are also warriors holding a shield, their heads peeping out over the tops, or diagonally across their bodies. There are even some haniwa with a warrior’s helmet sitting at the top of the cylinder above the shield. This unusual object has a shield and quiver on the front, and the face of a warrior wearing a helmet on the reverse.
A red-brown earthenware sculpture depicts a tall, vertical figure with a minimalist face. Narrow slits form the eyes and mouth, with a small protruding nose. Large rectangular panels flare from the head like wings, situated above smaller triangular sections. A horizontal ridge separates the upper figure from a long cylindrical base featuring a circular hole. This abstract form combines human-like features with flat, geometric, shield-like shapes.

Haniwa in the Form of a Shield

c. 500

Japan, Kofun period (300–710 CE)

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