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An extremely rare Protohistoric Japanese Haniwa bust of a man, dating to the middle to late Kofun (or Tumulus) Period (4th-6th Century A.D.).
The terracotta sculpture is of a male warrior, shown wearing an unusual studded and crested helmet with additional cheek-pieces and neck-guard. He is depicted with oval face, prominent eyebrows, cut-out eyes and mouth and a subtle nose.
Japan's Kofun culture occupied the very end of the prehistoric period, where only limited knowledge of writing existed. For this reason the Kofun culture is often referred to as 'Protohistoric' Japan; a period characterized by Tumulus (or mound) burials and a highly ordered, class-based society. As virtually no written records exist and contact with external cultures was minimal, our knowledge of the Protohistoric Japanese derives largely from their magnificent Haniwa sculptures.
Haniwa literally means "clay cylinder" and refers to the earliest form of Kofun-era sculpture; undecorated low-fired clay cylinders, which were placed on the terraces of keyhole-shaped burial mounds1. Their purpose is ill understood, but it seems that they served to demarcate the burial site and perhaps to contain the spirit of the deceased.
Miki writes that:
Haniwa arrangements can best be thought of in terms of a calculated visual effect aimed at the person gazing at, or worshipping before, such tumuli from a considerable distance [...] Their ultimate location far from the eye of the viewer, who was separated from them and their ghostly companions by the placid waters of the moat circling the tumulus, explains much of their technique [...] only that which absolutely must be expressed is explicitly stated.2
The famous Japanese Historian, Dr. Tetsuro Watsuji expresses the appeal of the Haniwa in his own way:
Look at them, if you will, from afar off; but the strange thing you will notice is that the farther you draw away from them, the more real they become [...] As one gradually draws away from a Haniwa, the sculptured eyes gradually become real eyes, now truly the 'widows of the soul'; the whole face lights up with life; and the entire Haniwa figure itself seems about to come alive.3
This particular Haniwa is one of the finest, most unusual examples of this rare type that we have seen. Compare a very similar example in the Ogasawara Collection, noted by Miki to be the product of a "rarely talented artisan4. For the studded helmet see another example from the Maeda collection, said to have been found in Kanto5.
Height of Sculpture on Wooden mount: 16 1/4 inches.
Height of Sculpture alone: 10 1/2 inches.
Condition: In good overall condition for a Haniwa sculpture. Genuine Haniwa are low-fired and thus display cracking on close inspection. Whilst many examples on the market are heavily restored, this piece is in unrestored condition with very few losses to the head.
Provenance: Ex. Maryland Collection. Old inventory label to the back of the sculpture. The piece probably originates from the Kanto region.
References:
1Fumio Miki, R.A.Miller, Haniwa, the clay sculpture of protohistoric Japan, Charles Turtle, 1960, p.18
2 ibid. p.26
3 ibid. p.42
4 ibid. pl.12 & p.152
5 ibid. pl.20 & p.153
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