Untitled [Zebra] or horse / Nakayama Tadashi

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Record Details

Accession Number
1998/2.22
Title
Untitled [Zebra] or horse
Artist Nationality
Japanese
Artist Life Dates
born 1927
Object Creation Date
1958
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
Japan (nation)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
Japan (nation)
Dimensions
36.6 cm x 51.8 cm (14 7/16 in. x 20 3/8 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Print
Primary Object Type
color print
Physical Description
The sweeping stripes of black and white that arch across the body of this galloping creature give the appearance of a zebra, yet the long, flowing mane is characteristic of a horse. A series of circles and crescents over and underlay the horse, and the background uses gold leaf.
Subject Matter
Artist Nakayama Tadashi has shown fascination with horses over the course of his career, including a series of prints under the titles “Running Horses” And “Ema.”
Ema is Japanese for “picture horse,” yet it has come to be known as a term for wooden plaques that can be purchased at Shintô shrines and used to inscribe upon a wish or prayer. This practice came from the tradition of dedicating horses at shrines as offerings for kami (gods), often in exchange for a blessing. Over centuries actual horses were replaced with horse statues or images. Today, ema votives may not even have a picture of a horse, but other imagery associated with Shintô or the particular shrine.
This print is a precursor to the “Ema” series, which began in 1972. Here Nakayama makes use of gold leaf, a reference to traditional Japanese art, and technique common in his later “Ema” and “Running Horses” pieces.
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Technical Details

Image Size
1309 x 975
File Size
169 KB
Record
1998/2.22
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1998-sl-2.22/1998_2.22.jpg

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"Untitled [Zebra] or horse; Nakayama Tadashi." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1998-sl-2.22/1998_2.22.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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