Untitled [Zebra] or horse / Nakayama Tadashi
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1998/2.22
- Title
- Untitled [Zebra] or horse
- Artist
- Nakayama Tadashi
- Artist Nationality
- Japanese
- Artist Life Dates
- born 1927
- Medium and Support
- color woodblock print with gold on paper
- Object Creation Date
- 1958
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- Japan (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Japan (nation)
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Alva Gordon Sink
- Period
- Japan, Showa Era (1926-1989)
- Dimensions
- 36.6 cm x 51.8 cm (14 7/16 in. x 20 3/8 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- 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.
- Secondary Keywords
- visual arts
- animal
- animals and creatures
- artistic concepts
- associated concepts
- concepts in the arts
- descriptors
- design elements
- forms of expression
- geometric concepts
- geometric figures
- geometric patterns
- mammals
- mathematical concepts
- patterns (design elements)
- patterns by specific type
- people and culture
- plane figures
- scientific concepts
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- 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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- Full citation
-
"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 May 21, 2024.