Birds and Jutting Rocks
Medium
Album leaf; brown and gold lacquer on silver paper
Dimensions
3 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. (8.9 x 12.1 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
Accession Number
36.100.115
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the intimate format of an album leaf, *Birds and Jutting* by Shibata Zin captures the rugged beauty of nature during Japan's Edo period (16151868). This tiny treasure, measuring just 3½ × 4¾ inches, showcases birds perched amid dramatic, protruding rocks—a classic motif in Japanese art symbolizing harmony between wildlife and the wild landscape. Zeshin, a virtuoso of the late Edo era, elevated lacquerwork to painterly heights, blending traditional craftsmanship with innovative expression. What sets this piece apart is its extraordinary medium: brown and gold lacquer applied to silv...
About the Artist
Shibata Zeshin · 1807–1891
Japanese, 1807–1891