屏風尽図屏風|Screens within Screens

Unknown

18th century · Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on gilt paper · Asian Art

This pair of screens is unusual in its subject matter: replicas of folding screens painted on the screens themselves, which offer a fanciful catalogue of workshop styles practiced in Japan in the 1700s. They relate to two categories of decorative motifs seen on screens, one known as “Whose Sleeves?” and the other as “Scattered Fans.” Screens of the first type feature variously patterned kimono draped over lacquer racks; those in the latter category are decorated with fans that have themselves been embellished with pictures. In a nod to the “Scattered Fans” genre, one of the replica screens seen here features fans decorated with a range of motifs, from vegetables and insects to episodes from courtly narratives.

Artist

Unknown

Date

18th century

Medium

Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on gilt paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Fletcher, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation and Dodge Funds, 2010