“Drinking Alone under the Moon”: Calligraphy on a Wooden Board from Horyūji Temple

2005

Not on view

The potter Tsujimura Shirō is also known for his bold, idiosyncratic calligraphy style. Here he has inscribed the phrase “Drinking Alone under the Moon,” which is the title of famous poem by the Tang poet Li Bai (701-762). In the poem, the Li Bai suggests that the moon and his shadow can be companions if literary cohorts are not present. When Tsujimura presented this work to the collectors Halsey and Alice North, he mentioned that it was inscribed upon an ancient slab of wood from a building at the Hōryūji temple complex, near Nara.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

辻村史朗　木板墨跡「月下独酌」
Title: “Drinking Alone under the Moon”: Calligraphy on a Wooden Board from Horyūji Temple
Artist: Tsujimura Shirō (Japanese, born 1947)
Period: Heisei period (1989–2019)
Date: 2005
Culture: Japan
Medium: Ink on wood
Dimensions: 35 3/4 × 11 1/2 × 1 in. (90.8 × 29.2 × 2.5 cm)
Classification: Calligraphy
Credit Line: Gift of Halsey and Alice North, 2017
Object Number: 2017.166.14
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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