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Not currently on display at the V&A

Screen

1880-1883 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a good example of the type of large-scale artwork produced at the height of the Meiji period to show the skills of the Japanese craftsman. It was probably never intended for domestic use. The screen was originally exhibited in 1883 at the Foreign Exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts, alongside heavy, ornate, western-style furniture decorated with Japanese themes. The following year it appeared at the International Health Exhibition in London, from where the Museum bought it through Mr A B Ya of the Japanese consulate.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Lacquered wood
Brief description
Screen, wood lacquered with inlaid mother-of-pearl, hardstone, gold, silver, and patinated copper, Japan, 1880-1883.
Physical description
Screen. Two-fold, made of a kind of cedar (Jindai-sugi) wood, the surfaces of the panels rubbed down with wet straw and fine sand so as to leave the harder parts of the grain in relief and decorated on one side with figures of a cock and hen with chickens, and various flowers in gold, silver, and other metals, pearl, coral and richly gilt lacquer.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1.83m
  • Width: 1.83m
Style
Object history
Purchased from the International Health Exhibition, accessioned in 1885. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is a good example of the type of large-scale artwork produced at the height of the Meiji period to show the skills of the Japanese craftsman. It was probably never intended for domestic use. The screen was originally exhibited in 1883 at the Foreign Exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts, alongside heavy, ornate, western-style furniture decorated with Japanese themes. The following year it appeared at the International Health Exhibition in London, from where the Museum bought it through Mr A B Ya of the Japanese consulate.
Collection
Accession number
159-1885

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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