Plug-Shaped Ear Ornaments
The large quantity of clay ear ornaments and their wide variety suggest that they may have been used in coming-of-age ceremonies or other rites of passage marking key stages in a person’s life. It is thought that individuals began by wearing smaller plug-shaped ornaments in their earlobes and gradually replaced them with larger ones as they grew older.
Artwork Details
- 土製耳飾 縄文・晩期
- Title: Plug-Shaped Ear Ornaments
- Period: Final Jōmon period (1200–900 BCE)
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Earthenware
- Dimensions: a): H. 3/4 in. (1.9 cm); Diam. 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm)
b): H. 3/4 in. (1.9 cm); Diam. 1 in. (2.5 cm) - Classification: Ceramics
- Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
- Object Number: 1975.268.197a, b
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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