Fushimi figurine (Fushimi ningyo), figure of Hotei

Maker(s)
Artist: Fushimi Koemon
Historical period(s)
Edo period, 19th century
Medium
Earthenware with cold pigments and soot
Style
Fushimi ware
Dimensions
H x W x D: 15.5 x 11.5 x 11.5 cm (6 1/8 x 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 in)
Geography
Japan, Kyoto prefecture, Kyoto, Fushimi
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1899.20
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic
Type

Figure: Hotei

Keywords
earthenware, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Fushimi ware, Hotei, Japan
Provenance

To 1899
S. Eida, to 1899 [1]

From 1899 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from S. Eida in 1899 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 253, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

S. Eida (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Label

Every region of Japan once produced distinctive clay "toys" -- actually votive images closely tied to folk belief and popular religion. Fushimi "dolls" were produced in the neighborhood of the Fushimi Inari shrine in southeast Kyoto and sold to the throngs of pilgrims. Together with the plump maiden Otafuku, the Chinese folk deity Hotei (Pu-tai) was a perennial favorite. This mold-formed image is soot-blackened after years of being worshipped on a shrine in a household kitchen.

Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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