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Enjoying the Evening Cool under a Gourd Trellis

early 19th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 231
Beneath a makeshift trellis, a couple sits on a straw mat, enjoying the cool evening breeze. The scene appears to depict an ordinary moment in the lives of regular people, yet it likely alludes to a waka (poem) by Kinoshita Chōshōshi (1569–1649): “Beneath the eaves where the yūgao (moonflower) blooms, the man cools himself in his loincloth, the woman in her undergarment.” While the poem celebrates simple domestic pleasure, the painting carries a quieter, more melancholic mood that evokes the transition from late summer to autumn. The man cradles a blue-and-white porcelain sake cup, and his companion reaches toward it for a sip; a stoneware sake flask rests before them, lending the intimate scene a sense of shared leisure.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 歌川豊広筆　夕顔棚納涼図
  • Title: Enjoying the Evening Cool under a Gourd Trellis
  • Artist: Utagawa Toyohiro (Japanese, 1763–1828)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: early 19th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 33 1/4 x 11 in. (84.5 x 27.9 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 65 1/8 x 16 1/2 in. (165.4 x 41.9 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.268.129
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

Audio

Cover Image for 8829. Enjoying the Evening Cool under a Gourd Trellis

8829. Enjoying the Evening Cool under a Gourd Trellis

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Set of Five Sencha Teacups (Sencha wan) with Lattice Pattern, Porcelain painted with cobalt blue under a transparent glaze (Hizen ware), Japan
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