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This album contains illustrations for the classic literary work the <em>Tale of Genji,</em> authored in the 1000s by Murasaki Shikibu, an aristocrat of the Heian period (794–1185) court. The scenes are painted in the “white drawing” (<em>hakubyō</em>) mode, in which a fine ink line is used to depict figures and spaces with great subtlety, punctuated only occasionally by traces of red pigment for a character’s lips, a detail of a garment, or a decorative element. These two scenes illustrate episodes from the chapters “Thin Veil of Cloud” (Usugumo) and “Barrier Gate” (Sekiya).
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
painting in an accordion-style album; ink, light color, and gold on paper
Each leaf: 26.3 x 22 cm (10 3/8 x 8 11/16 in.); Painting only: 17 x 20.6 cm (6 11/16 x 8 1/8 in.)
Did you know...
The illustrations are identified by chapter title in cartouches to the upper right of the paintings.
Gift of Vera Sterne in memory of her husband, Maurice Sterne
Unlike fragile portrait miniatures painted in watercolor on vellum or ivory, which are prone to cracking, fading, and flaking, enamels are resilient, impervious to the effects of light, and retain their striking original colors over time. Partly for this reason enamel was considered ideal for reproducing famous paintings and treasured portraits in a reduced and luminous form. The complicated and labor-intensive process of enameling required the artist to fire numerous layers of colored metal oxide at different temperatures. This process made it difficult to produce a faithful portrait likeness, though masters of the medium like Jacques Thouron were able create portraits of remarkable subtlety imbued with the sitter's personality.
Switzerland
enamel in a gilt metal and enamel frame
Diameter: 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.); Diameter of frame: 8.4 cm (3 5/16 in.)
Gift of J. H. Wade
As early as the seventh century, the practice of drinking tea and wine became an important part of elite leisure culture in Korea. A wide bowl like this example was especially suitable for drinking powdered tea shaved from a compressed tea cake, the most commonly enjoyed type during the Goryeo period. The inlaid image of bloomed white flowers on the inner wall of this tea bowl must have made the moment of drinking tea more enjoyable.
Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
celadon with inlaid design
Overall: 6.7 cm (2 5/8 in.)
Did you know...
The transparent greenish and bluish glaze of Goryeo celadons, shown in this bowl, is the result of distinctive small and long Korean kilns, which maintained a low oxygen saturation with a high level of carbon dioxide.
Gift of John L. Severance
High demand for shawabtys in the Late Period, a time when as many as 400 or more shawabtys were placed in the tomb with the deceased, gave rise to a specialized container for storing them: the shawabty box. This example is inscribed for the lady of the house, Ditamenpaankh, and was probably one of a pair originally made for her. The single-masted boat on the box's lid is perhaps an allusion to the pilgrimage of the deceased to the holy city of Abydos, the cult city of Osiris, king of the dead. The shawabtys inside are crude, mass-produced examples cast in an open mold. Made of terracotta, their blue paint imitates more costly shawabtys made of faience. As for the shawabty spell, it has been removed from its traditional location on the shawabty's front and relocated onto the sides of box, where it needed only to be written once, thus expediting production.
Egypt, Late period (715–332 BCE), Dynasty 25
terracotta
Overall: 6.7 x 2.6 x 1.8 cm (2 5/8 x 1 x 11/16 in.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
