Branch of Plum Blossoms and Bowl
19th century
Medium
Part of an album of woodblock prints (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
4 1/8 x 5 11/16 in. (10.5 x 14.4 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
JP2283
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate beauty of *Branch of Plum Bloss and Bowl*, a gem from the 19th Japanese artist Ryūryūkyo Shinsai. This intimate woodblock print, part a luxurious surimono album—privately commissioned prints often shared among poetry circles—captures a single branch of plum blossoms arching gracefully over a simple bowl. Rendered in vibrant ink and color on paper its petite dimensions (just 4 1/8 x 5 11/16 inches) invite close contemplation, evoking the refined aesthetic of ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world." Surimono like this one were artisanal treasures of Edo-period Japan (1...
About the Artist
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai · 1799–1823
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai (柳々居辰斎), active from 1799 to 1823, was a prominent Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker based in Edo (modern Tokyo), renowned for his mastery of surimono—luxurious, privately commissioned woodblock prints produced for elite poetry circles and New Year's celebrations. He began his training under Tawaraya Sōri before becoming a student of the legendary Katsushika Hokusai, from whom he recei...