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:
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culture: Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912)
technique: Silk: embroidered; metallic thread
department: Textiles
collection: Textiles
type: Embroidery
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
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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:
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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).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
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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:
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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.
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RELATED WORKS
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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:
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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