Plate with Floral Design, one of five

Description

The flowers depicted in these delicate works - literally made of layers of papers - are five of the "seven grasses of autumn," a favorite motif in Japanese decorative arts for centuries. Here, they are exquisitely painted in colored lacquer on plates of gold leaf by one of the great geniuses if Japanese design, Shibata Zeshin. The unexpected contrast of the quiet, natural plant motifs against the glittering square of gold is typical of Zeshin's work.
exhibited summer 2010
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Shibata Zeshin
Japan, 1807–1891
Plates with floral design
Meiji period (1868–1912)
circa 1879–90
Paper with clear lacquer over gold leaf and polychrome lacquer painting
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund, 1968/2.56-60
The flowers depicted in these delicate works—literally made of layers of papers—are five of the “seven grasses of autumn,” a favorite motif in Japanese decorative arts for centuries. Here, they are exquisitely painted in colored lacquer on plates of gold leaf by one of the great geniuses of Japanese design, Shibata Zeshin. The unexpected contrast of the quiet, natural plant motifs against the glittering square of gold is typical of Zeshin’s work.
(6/28/10)