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Grapes

ca. 1480–92
Not on view
In this tour de force of brushwork, the monk-calligrapher Motsurin Jōtō rendered clusters of grapes and leaves on a vine. In addition to the varied tones achieved with the brush, Motsurin impressed his fingerprints into some of the grapes while the ink was wet, imbuing the work with distinctive traces of the physical act of creation. Above, four columns of a Chinese poem appear in Motsurin’s own dynamic calligraphy:

醉中倒東海　拾得老龍鬚
醒來間点撿　猶自帶驪珠　　
　
While drunk,
I fell into the Eastern Sea,
Reaching for and grasping
the aged dragon’s whiskers.
After finally awakening
and examining things,
I am still carrying
the dragon’s black pearls.

—Trans. Tim T. Zhang

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 没倫紹等(墨斎)筆　葡萄図
  • Title: Grapes
  • Artist: Motsurin Jōtō (Bokusai) (Japanese, died 1492)
  • Period: Muromachi period (1392–1573)
  • Date: ca. 1480–92
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 17 9/16 × 15 3/16 in. (44.6 × 38.6 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 50 7/8 × 20 9/16 in. (129.2 × 52.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2022
  • Object Number: 2022.432.7
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Plum Blossoms, Motsurin Jōtō (Bokusai) Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
Plum Blossoms
Motsurin Jōtō (Bokusai)
15th century
Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese
Helmet (Zukinnari Kabuto)
Japanese
16th century
Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu, Ni Zan Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, China
Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu
Ni Zan
dated 1372
A Line from the Chinese Poem “Grasses” by Bai Juyi, Motsurin Jōtō (Bokusai) Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
A Line from the Chinese Poem “Grasses” by Bai Juyi
Traditionally attributed to Motsurin Jōtō (Bokusai)
probably 17th–18th century
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries

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