Japan
1790-01-01 - 1790-12-31
Medium
paper
Dimensions
19; 34; 28.5; 8.5; 946.7; 51; 30.5; 8; 28.5; 947.7
About this artwork
Makemono met een geillustreerde inventaris van de schatten van de Mishima-tempel in Iyo. In houten doos.
Art Historical Context
This exquisite anonymous Japanese handscroll, titled *Japan* and dated 1790, is a makemono—a traditional horizontal scroll designed to be unrolled gradually for viewing. Measuring a striking 28.5 cm high by an impressive 946.7 long (over 31 feet!), it unfolds like a narrative tapestry on delicate paper, housed in a protective wooden box. Created during the Edo period, it serves as an illustrated inventory of the treasures from the Mishima Temple in Iyo (modern Ehime Prefecture on Shikoku Island), cataloging sacred artifacts with meticulous detail. Such makemono were prized in 18th-century Jap...
About the Artist
anonymous
In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...