string(25) "edanmdm:fsg_F1903.101-102" Court Ladies among cherry trees (left); Cherry blossoms, a high fence and retainers (right) - National Museum of Asian Art
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Court Ladies among cherry trees (left); Cherry blossoms, a high fence and retainers (right)

Detail of a pattern
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Creative Commons

At A Glance

  • Period

    1590-1640

  • Geography

    Japan

  • Material

    Ink, color, gold, and silver on paper

  • Dimension

    H x W (.101): 165.4 x 378 cm (65 1/8 x 148 13/16 in)

  • Accession Number

    F1903.101-102

  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1903.101-102

Object Details

  • Artist

    Style of Tawaraya Sotatsu 俵屋宗達 (fl. ca. 1600-1643)

  • School/Tradition

    Rinpa

  • Description

    The right-hand screen (F1903.101) shows a group of six court ladies standing under cherry trees. At the extreme right stands one of the two-wheeled ox-carts (goshogoruma) in which the ladies have come to the grove, and the tops of two other carts appear in the foreground at little to the left.
    The left-hand screen (F1903.102) is divided diagonally by a fence made of bundles of dried stalks of the hagi (bush clover), which is modeled in low relief in gesso and gilded; this fence encloses the garden where the cherry trees grow, laden with many white blossoms. Outside the fence in the lower left-hand corner is a group of white-robed male attendants fast asleep. A long-handled higasa (parasol) in a white cloth cover rests against the fence.

  • Provenance

    To 1903
    Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1903 [1]
    From 1903 to 1919
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1903 [2]
    From 1920
    Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
    Notes:
    [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Screen List, L. 71, pg. 18, 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.

  • Collection

    Freer Gallery of Art Collection

  • Exhibition History

    Painting the Classics: Japanese Screens (November 10, 2018 to October 14, 2019)
    East of Eden: Gardens in Asian Art (February 24 to May 13, 2007)

  • Previous custodian or owner

    Bunkio Matsuki 松木文恭 (1867-1940) (C.L. Freer source)
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

  • Origin

    Japan

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Charles Lang Freer

  • Type

    Painting

  • Restrictions and Rights

    CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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