Handle in the Form of an Animal Head
c. 1000–300 B.C.
Earthenware
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Not currently on view
In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026
Discussion
FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG
Only a handful of animals are represented in Jômon art. This piece is in the shape of the head of an animal; it looks like a horse from one side and a sheep from the other. The walls of the indentations are carefully modeled, not simply pressed into the clay with a stick. Judging by the curved back surface, it seems likely that this head came off of a vessel and was perhaps a handle that sat on the rim (with the curved surface at the back forming part of the interior wall of a jar).
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