Flowers in Jardenierres
Medium
Album leaf; lacquer on paper
Dimensions
4 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (11.4 x 8.9 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
36.100.131
Art Historical Context
**Flowers in Jardinières** by Shibataeshin is a delicate leaf from Japan's Edo period (16151868), measuring just 4½ x 3½ inches. This intimate format was typical for personal albums, where collectors savored refined artworks page by page. Zeshin, a master craftsman born in 1807, blooming flowers in jardinièresornate pots—with exquisite realism, inviting viewers into a serene floral world. What sets this piece apart is its innovative medium: lacquer on paper. Zeshin revolutionized lacquerware, a traditional Japanese art form using urushi sap from the lacquer tree, by applying it to paper to mi...
About the Artist
Shibata Zeshin · 1807–1891
Japanese, 1807–1891