Object details
Object number
S13w4.1-2
Creator(s)
Japanese
Title
Pair of Gate Doors
Date
early 18th century
Medium
Carved wood with some light green pigment
Dimensions
193 x 97.8 cm (76 x 38 1/2 in.) each
Provenance
Possibly from Yamato Province, corresponding to the present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū, Japan.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the Matsuki sale at Copley Hall, Boston in November 1903 for $210, lot 327a.
Commentary
In the center of the upper panel of each door there is a carving of a plum branch with full-grown blossoms in low relief. The carvings show fine craftsmanship in design and technique suggesting that the doors may once have belonged to the gate of a temple or shrine.
Bibliography
Leonard & Co. Catalogue of the Rare Objects in Wood, Pewter and Brass Illustrating the Art of Old Japan to be sold at unrestricted public sale by order of Mr. Bunkio Matsuki (Boston, 9-11 November 1903), p. 16, no. 327a, ill. ("old Buddhist temple in Yamato")
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 84. (as Japanese, early 18th century)
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), p. 83, no. 55. (as Japanese, early 18th century)
Gallery
Second Floor Stairhall And Stairway
Rights and reproductions
The use of images, text, and all other media found on this website is limited. Please review Rights and Reproductions for details.
