unearthed exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts

unearthed, a major new exhibition featuring prehistoric figurines from Japan, Romania, Macedonia, Albania, and the UK, opens at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich, on Tuesday 22 June and runs until Sunday 29 August. 

The exhibition has been developed by the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures and is supported by The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), The Henry Moore Foundation, the Japan Foundation, the British Academy and the Duke of Omnium Fund.

The exhibition brings together prehistoric clay figurines from Japan and the Balkans for the first time, displaying them alongside contemporary artworks. This exciting fresh approach will reveal new ideas about some of the most remarkable survivals from prehistory, enable us to think about figurines in new ways and reflect on what makes us human.

"There may never again be the chance to see this many ancient objects from the worlds' two great figurine traditions together in one exhibition. It is impossible to look at these evocative European figurines and Japanese dogū and not be transported to mystical worlds from deepest prehistory. What did these objects mean to their makers? Were they goddesses and gods? Were they toys? Were they portraits? The exhibition poses these and other unsolved questions for archaeology and art history" – Douglass Bailey, unearthed curator, San Francisco State University.


unearthed will focus on two of the earliest and most elaborate traditions of clay figurine making: the Jōmon from the Japanese archipelago (c.16,000-2,000 years ago), and the Neolithic and Eneolithic from the Balkans (c.8,500-4,500 years ago). Whilst some information is known about how prehistoric people lived in Japan and the Balkans, our understanding of why figurines were made and how they were used is less certain. The exhibition brings together objects made by village dwellers from two unconnected regions, to enable comparison. Stimulating new interpretation is made possible through the identification of intriguing similarities and differences; why, for example, were they both making human forms from clay and why were figurines commonly broken?

Theories about the possible functions of figurines include toys, dolls, magical objects designed to guarantee or increase fertility or successful harvests, and the representations of gods or as ‘Mother Goddesses’. The exhibition will explore these possibilities and will use the figurines to ask questions about how people express their worlds, why people make and break things, why people use small objects and how people lived in the past. Visitors will be encouraged to make their own interpretations, encountering the figurines as an archaeologist would and piecing together the fragments of evidence they find. unearthed includes a series of contemporary artworks and images from present day Japan and the Balkans.

Ancient and contemporary will be juxtaposed to stimulate wider thinking about figurines, expressions of the human form and the ways in which these prehistoric figurines have become important visual icons in the development of 21st century cultural identities. Amongst the works on display will be Japanese manga characters inspired by Jōmon figures and modern presentations of the human form.

“Building on and responding to a major exhibition of prehistoric Japanese figurines at the British Museum in 2009, unearthed is breaking new ground in the understanding and appreciation of figurines and how they contribute to what it means to be human. unearthed sets a new agenda for art and archaeology,
linking local concerns with themes of global significance” – Simon Kaner, unearthed curator, the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures.


One of the key themes in the exhibition is miniaturisation and our relationship with small figures. Many of the figurines were designed to be held in the hand (typically 4-5cm in height with the smallest object being just 2.3cm tall). unearthed will look at the ways in which people interact with such small objects and how their size may affect how they are perceived. As part of this, visitors to the exhibition will be given a biscuit-fired figurine made by artist Sue Maufe, enabling them to experience the tactile quality of the ancient figures they will see on display. They will also be able to break their figurine, adding it to a heap of fragments in the gallery reminiscent of the archaeological sites where figurines have been found.


“Small things, especially ones that look human, allow us to think about our place in the world in new ways. unearthed develops this notion and creates fresh opportunities for us to reconsider who we were in the past, who we are today, and who we want to be” – Andrew Cochrane, unearthed curator, University of East Anglia.


The exhibition is accompanied by an exciting programme of academic and public events including artist- led workshops, family events and talks. A study day, organised by the Sainsbury Centre and SISJAC will be held at Norwich University College of the Arts on Saturday 19 June. 

unearthed runs concurrently with Henry Moore Textiles. This major exhibition of Moore’s textiles designs from the 1940s and 1950s reveals his passion for colour and form. Full press release available on request.

Further information including copies of the gallery guide, wall texts and full image sheet are available on request.


For further information or photographs please contact
Sally Goldsmith, Press and Marketing Manager, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts
T 01603 592448 M 07769 586903 E [log in to unmask] or

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