Finding collections relating to d/Deaf, disabled and neurodiverse people

One of the aims of our project is to make collections relating to d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people more visible – and to share some of the objects our Fellows and Trainees are discovering.

Some will have quite obvious connections to disabled people’s lives – a walking stick, some braille or images of disabled people. But we will also be exploring less obvious connections too. Sometimes the significance of an object is its owner; its part in a bigger story, or the way someone with lived experience of disability has responded to it. In this way we hope to broaden the ways that d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent stories are told.

Collections

NETSUKE KNOWN AS "FUKUSUKE" (Sculpture)

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Rights information: Copyright: Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Description

Fukusuke is a traditional doll or sculpture in Japan associated with bringing good luck. This netsuke - a form of miniature sculpture often used to help fasten personal items to a man's garments - depicts Fukusuke kneeling and smiling, with an enlarged head contrasting with his much smaller body, likely to elicit humour in the viewer.

While there are several stories for their origin, one states that Fukusuke is based on a real-life man known as Sataro, a Japanese businessman who lived in Edo (modern-day Tokyo) during the 18th and 19th centuries and who was born with a form of dwarfism. He worked at various fairs and trade shows, and became very popular in Edo as a man believed to bring good fortune wherever he went. To this day, depictions of Fukusuke are often found within businesses or the houses of business owners.

- Kyle Lewis Jordan, Curating for Change Fellow, Ashmolean Museum and Pitt Rivers Museum

Meet our Fellows and Trainees

The Curating for Change project is running eight Fellowships over 18 months and eight Traineeships over 40 days based across 20 partner museums. Learn more about our Fellows and Trainees here.

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