A Mirror of Gathered Seaweed (Mokagami)

8th–17th century

Not on view

Albums of exemplary calligraphy specimens, referred to as tekagami, or “mirrors of the hand,” bring together fragments cut from handscrolls or bound booklets and also served as models of different brushwriting styles for students of calligraphy. The practice of creating such compendia became popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

古筆切の手鑑　『藻鏡』
Title: A Mirror of Gathered Seaweed (Mokagami)
Artist: Various calligraphers
Period: Nara (710–794)–Edo (1615–1868) period
Date: 8th–17th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Album of 301 calligraphy fragments; mostly ink on paper, some on dyed or decorated paper
Dimensions: Album: 15 3/4 × 13 3/8 × 6 5/16 in. (40 × 34 × 16 cm)
Classification: Calligraphy
Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
Object Number: 2015.300.229
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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