Dogu
The Dogū ( Japanese 土 偶 , English "earth figure") are statues from traditional Japanese art made of terracotta . They mostly represent a female figure, but sometimes also men or animals. They occur from the middle to the end of the Jōmon period .
They have a face, protruding legs and rather small arms and spherical "frog eyes", sometimes divided with a horizontal line. These sculptures are often decorated with complex geometric patterns. Even the smaller figures in the size of 15 to 25 cm mostly emphasize the female sexual characteristics. They are related to the idea of a mother goddess. The figures suggest a fertility cult.
At the end of the Jomon period they can also be found in simplified forms called Doban , on the basis of which masks called domes were also made at that time .
Their former meaning and their possible relationship to the Haniwa , which appeared as grave goods in the Kofun period, is still unknown.
literature
- Jürgen Berndt (Ed.): Japanese Art I. Leipzig, Koehler & Amelang, 1975, pp. 23–32
- Renée Violet: A Brief History of Japanese Art. Cologne, DuMont, 1984, ISBN 3-7701-1562-7
