Bowl with White-Baits and Plum Blossoms
19th century
Medium
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
8 3/16 x 7 1/4 in. (20.8 x 18.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture
Japan
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
JP2157
Tags
Art Historical Context
Kubo Shunman’s *Bowl with Whiteaits and Plum Bloss* is a delicate 19th-century woodblock print from Japan, exemplifying the refined art of *surimono*. These privately commissioned prints were luxurious New Year’s greetings or celebratory tokens for elite patrons, often featuring embossed textures, metallic pigments, and poetic inscriptions. Measuring just 8 3/16 x 7 1/4 inches, this intimate ink-and-color work on paper captures a serene still life: shimmering white-bait fish in a bowl alongside early-blooming plum blossoms evoking winter’s quiet beauty. In Japanese culture, plum blossoms symb...
About the Artist
Kubo Shunman · 1757–1820
Japanese, 1757–1820