Untitled Album of Seventeen Sketches of Birds, Fowers and Landscapes
mid-19th century
Medium
Woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
11 1/4 × 7 7/8 in. (28.5 × 20 cm)
Classification
Illustrated Books
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, 2013
Accession Number
2013.847
Tags
Art Historical Context
This enchanting *Untitled Album of Seventeen Sketches of Birds, Flowers, and Landscapes*, attributed to the Japanese artist Shōfusai Tōsen (東泉?), dates to the mid-19th century during Japan's Edo period (1615–1868). Produced as a woodblock printed book with ink and color on paper, measuring 11¼ × 7⅞ inches, it captures the refined beauty of nature through delicate sketches. Now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art Department (Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, 2013), this illustrated book exemplifies the era's fascination with ephemeral natural motifs. In Edo-...