俵屋宗理筆 朝顔図屏風|Morning Glories
18th century
Medium
Two-panel folding screen; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
19 15/16 × 65 3/16 in. (50.6 × 165.6 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
36.100.27
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate charm of *Morning Glories* (*Asagao-zu Byōbu*), a masterful two-panel folding screen byawaraya Sōri 18th-century Japan. Crafted during the Edo period (161–1868), this and color on paper artwork measures nearly six feet wide, designed as a *byōbu*—a traditional room divider that brought nature indoors for the elite. Sōri, a prominent figure in the Rinpa school, captures blooming morning glories (*asagao*) with their vibrant blues, purples, and twisting vines, evoking the fleeting beauty of summer. In Edo Japan, such screens were prized for their decorative splendor and symb...