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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2022.447
People
Matsumura Keibun 松村景文, Japanese (1779 - 1843)
Title
Painted Lantern
Classification
Lighting Devices
Work Type
lighting device
Date
first half 19th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Japan
Period
Edo period, 1615-1868
Culture
Japanese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/340462

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Wood frame; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
H. 69.1 cm (27 3/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • signature: of artist; in red:
    景文 [Keibun]
  • seal: of artist; square, intaglio:
    景文之印 [Keibun no in]

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Gallery Hosomi Kokan, Tokyo (by 1987)], sold; to Robert S. and Betsy G. Feinberg, Bethesda, MD (1987-2022), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2022.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Robert S. and Betsy G. Feinberg
Accession Year
2022
Object Number
2022.447
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
The delicate silk surfaces collectively bear a continuous composition that unfurls around the lantern to show two small birds, likely Java sparrows (bunchō), alighting on the blooming branches of a blue lace-cap hydrangea. This work showcases Keibun’s particular talent for charming and meticulously rendered bird-and-flower subjects. One of the panels can be lifted to allow access to the lantern’s interior cavity, which contains a recessed area in which a light source can be placed. Originally, the lantern was designed to hold a small metal dish for oil or a candle; the Feinbergs modified the lantern to accommodate an electric bulb. (A drawer in the base was perhaps intended to hold supplies.) Once lit, the flickering of the flame inside would have provided additional suggestive dynamism to the fitful movements of the small birds and a rich, interior luster to the flower petals. The execution is testament to Keibun’s level of skill: though highly detailed, each layer of colored pigment must be applied lightly and without significant overpainting in order for light to travel through the painted surface evenly, avoiding areas of infelicitous buildup that would draw the viewer’s attention and distract from the overall composition.

Publication History

  • Rachel Saunders, ed., Catalogue of the Feinberg Collection of Japanese Art, brochure, Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, 2021), pp. 109-110, cat. 102

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu