Japanese
Chukei Fan, mid 19th century
Ink and color on paper with bamboo ribs, 33 x 43.2 cm (13 x 17 in.)
This Japanese folding fan has bamboo ribs connected with paper, to which watercolor decoration has been applied. On each side of the fan the paper is painted gold, with a red wash on the upper right and left and a multi-colored scene in the middle. The scene on one side of the fan is a graceful landscape, which is sprinkled with dots and includes plants on a partly green and partly sandy shore, blue water, and a white sky. The scene on the other side of the fan is more abstract, with a blue and white background, four gold horizontal streaks below, and a slender vertical gold streak above that evokes a crescent moon. The fan has a simple wooden, rectangular box with black Japanese lettering on it.
Vatichino
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.