id: 95599 accession number: 1916.1319 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1319 updated: 2020-11-04 19:13:24.334000 Gift Cover (Fukusa) with Tale of Genji Shell-Matching Game, 1868–1912. Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912). Silk: embroidered; metallic thread; overall: 85.1 x 72.4 cm (33 1/2 x 28 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade 1916.1319 title: Gift Cover (Fukusa) with Tale of Genji Shell-Matching Game title in original language: 源氏絵貝合図刺繍袱紗 series: series in original language: creation date: 1868–1912 creation date earliest: 1868 creation date latest: 1912 current location: creditline: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade copyright: --- culture: Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912) technique: Silk: embroidered; metallic thread department: Textiles collection: Textiles type: Embroidery find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 85.1 x 72.4 cm (33 1/2 x 28 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation opening date: 2020-01-24T05:00:00 Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 24-July 19, 2020). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE Mr. Jeptha Homer Wade II [1857-1926] and Mrs. Ellen Garretson Wade [1859-1917], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: ?-1916 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1916- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: Japanese elites once presented gifts in boxes with gift covers (fukusa) draped over them. The decorated covers were typically lined with a monochrome backing, but this one’s borders are exposed. Its design is a Tale of Genji shell-matching game. Two clamshells shown in close-up are painted with scenes from two chapters of the novel. The one on the bottom is an episode from the “Kochō” (Butterflies) chapter, in which Genji’s beloved Murasaki sends her young attendants to dance for the empress. The one on the top may depict Genji writing a poem in the “Suzumushi” (Bell Cricket) chapter. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Bush, Mary Polityka. "Fukusa: The Art of Giving in Edo Period Japan." Piecework 23, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 2015): 40-43. page number: Reproduced: p. 42 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1319/1916.1319_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1319/1916.1319_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1319/1916.1319_full.tif