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Autumn Grasses in Moonlight

second half of the 19th century
Not on view
In Japan, gazing at the moon and listening to the sounds of insects have long been tranquil ways to spend an autumn evening. Seen from a low vantage point, the full moon illuminates the unseen world in a tangle of autumn grasses, where various types of crickets are highlighted with shiny lacquer pigment. The silver background further enriches the dreamlike atmosphere. This small screen is of a type used at tea gatherings.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 月に秋草図屏風
  • Title: Autumn Grasses in Moonlight
  • Artist: Shibata Zeshin (Japanese, 1807–1891)
  • Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
  • Date: second half of the 19th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Two-panel folding screen; ink, lacquer, silver, and silver leaf on paper
  • Dimensions: Image (each panel): 18 in. × 33 1/4 in. (45.7 × 84.5 cm)
    Each panel, with frame: 26 1/8 × 34 3/8 in. (66.4 × 87.3 cm)
    Overall with frame (both panels): 26 1/8 in. × 69 in. (66.4 × 175.3 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: 1975.268.137
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

Audio

Cover Image for 8910. Autumn Grasses in Moonlight

8910. Autumn Grasses in Moonlight

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More Artwork

More Artwork
Fans and Flowers, Shibata Zeshin Japanese, Two-panel folding screen; color on silk, Japan
Fans and Flowers
Style of Shibata Zeshin
1868–1912
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
“Takebun,” from the Musical Drama “The New Piece” (Shinkyoku), Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, gold and silver leaf on paper, Japan
“Takebun,” from the Musical Drama “The New Piece” (Shinkyoku)
Japan
early 17th century
Folding Screen for Tea Ceremony with Six Bird-and-Flower Paintings, Shibata Zeshin Japanese, Two-panel folding screen; lacquer, color, and silver on paper, Japan
Folding Screen for Tea Ceremony with Six Bird-and-Flower Paintings
In the style of Shibata Zeshin
late 19th century
Koto (箏), Various woods, ivory, metal, nylon, tortoiseshell, abalone, lacquerwork, Japanese
Koto (箏)
Japanese
20th century

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