Landscape

Object Details

• Artist

  Attributed to Shubun

• Provenance

  By at least 1900-no later than 1931

  Baron Ryuichi Kuki (1852-1931), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  About 1931-1959

  The object’s ownership and whereabouts are unknown

  By at least 1959-1963

  Oriental Art Gallery, New York, method of acquisition unknown [2]

  From 1963

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Oriental Art Gallery, New York [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Japan Commission Impériale à l’Exposition Universalle de Paris, 1900 ed., “Histoire de l’art du Japon” [exhibition catalog] (Paris: M. de Brunoff, 1900), pl. XLII, no. 2. Baron Ryūichi Kuki, born Hoshizaki Sadajirō, was a Japanese politician specializing in cultural policy and would become Director General of the Tokyo Imperial Palace Museum. He was a patron of the arts and the father of philosopher, poet, and art critic Shūzō Kuki (1888-1941).

  [2] See Freer Gallery of Art vault card no. V83.59, indicating that Joseph Seo, Oriental Art Gallery, left the object at the Freer for examination on June 26, 1959. Joseph U. Seo (1911-1998) was a Japanese-American art dealer who specialized in Chinese and Japanese Art. He had his own business in New York, Seo & Company, until about 1950, when he became the New York representative for the Tokyo-based Oriental Art Gallery.

  [3] See object file for copy of Oriental Art Gallery invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, dated July 1, 1963, and marked approved by the Secretary on November 18, 1959.

  Research updated April 13, 2023

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Mind Over Matter: Zen in Medieval Japan (March 5, 2022 - July 24, 2022)

  Zen, Tea, and Chinese Art in Medieval Japan (December 13, 2014 to June 14, 2015)

  Landscapes in Japanese Art (February 2 to July 15, 2007)

  The Idea of China in Japan: The Tea Ceremony in Japan (December 19, 1999 to June 11, 2000)

  Luminous Shadows (April 1, 1982 to June 21, 1982)

  Japanese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to January 17, 1980)

  Japanese Art (July 1, 1974 to April 10, 1978)

  Japanese Art: Paintings and Pottery (July 1, 1966 to May 2, 1973)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Baron Kuki Ryuichi 九鬼 隆一 (1852-1931)

  Oriental Art Gallery (New York)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1500s, 1400s

• Name

  Seo, Joseph U., Ryuichi, Kuki

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Landscapes, Art, Muromachi period (1333 - 1573), Japanese Art, Kakemono

• Culture

  Buddhists, Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings