Object details
Accession number
P13w7.a-d
Primary Creator
Japanese
Full title
Plovers (Four Sliding Doors)
Creation Date
18th century
Provenance
Possibly from the Taima-dera Temple near Nara, Japan.
Collection of the Japanese art dealer Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the Matsuki sale at Copley Hall, Boston for $80 on 11 November 1903, lot 328. (as the work of the Japanese painter Tosa Mitsumochi, active 1523-1570)
Marks
Inscribed (on a sticker affixed to the upper edge of the lacquer frame, far right door, printed): 328 (its lot number at the Matsuki sale)
Dimensions
171.5 x 94 cm (67 1/2 x 37 in.)
Display Media
Watercolor on cedar panel (with some white pigment in relief)
Web Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Permanent Gallery Location
Second Floor Stairhall and Stairway
Bibliography
Leonard & Co. Catalogue of Rare Objects in Wood, Pewter and Brass Illustrating the Art of Old Japan... (Boston, 9-11 November 1903), lot 328. (as painted by Tosa Mitsushige, dated 1540)
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 84. (as Japanese, mid 18th century)
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 77-79, no. 32. (as Japanese, Kano school, 18th century)
Rights and reproductions
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