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The Return to Court of the Four Graybeards of Mount Shang (right); Su Shi’s Visit to the Wind and Water Cave (left)

In the Style of Kano Mitsunobu Japanese
late 16th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 226
The right screen depicts the Four Elders of Mount Shang Coming to Court, a celebrated Han-dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) scene exemplifying loyalty and moral integrity. The Four Elders, reclusive scholars who refused Emperor Gaozu’s summons during his reign, returned to public service to support the rightful succession of Crown Prince Liu Ying, the future Emperor Hui (reigned 194–188 BCE). Their endorsement helped secure Ying’s position.

The left screen illustrates a famous episode from the life of Su Shi (1037–1101). In 1073, while traveling from Hangzhou to Xincheng, Su stopped at the Wind and Water Cave to visit the young poet Li Bi. After the pair viewed plum blossoms and composed poetry together, Su inscribed verses onto the cave walls. Here, the scholar-poet is shown crossing a bridge with an attendant while Li awaits his arrival at a pavilion.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 伝狩野光信筆　商山四皓・蘇東坡風水洞図屏風
  • Title: The Return to Court of the Four Graybeards of Mount Shang (right); Su Shi’s Visit to the Wind and Water Cave (left)
  • Artist: In the Style of Kano Mitsunobu (Japanese, 1565–1608)
  • Period: Momoyama period (1573–1615)
  • Date: late 16th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper
  • Dimensions: Image (each screen): 68 3/4 in. x 12 ft. 4 7/8 in. (174.6 x 378.1 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: 1975.268.46, .47
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Irises at Yatsuhashi (Eight Bridges), Ogata Kōrin Japanese, Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and color on gold leaf on paper, Japan
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Greenrock Bench, George Nakashima American, American walnut, Japan
Greenrock Bench
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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
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