Object details
Accession number
U3n6
Primary Creator
Japanese
Full title
Paint Brush
Creation Date
19th century
Object Case
Okakura Case
Provenance
Probably a gift from the Japanese art historian and philosopher, Okakura Kakuzo (1862-1913) to Isabella Stewart Gardner before 1913.
Marks
Inscribed in green, blue, and red ink (on handle) in Japanese.
Dimensions
19.5 cm (7 11/16 in.)
Display Media
Animal hair, bamboo
Web Commentary
This brush commemorates Isabella Stewart Gardner’s close friendship with scholar Okakura Kakuzo. The two became close while he served as curator of Asian art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. They spent many days engrossed in conversation at her museum, where he once presided over the Japanese tea ceremony. When he passed away, she placed this brush in the Blue Room of her museum next to a poem he had written and given to her.
Permanent Gallery Location
Blue Room
Rights and reproductions
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