Vase, one of a pair with F1996.33.2

Object Details

• Artist

  Kanzan Denshichi 幹山伝七 (1821-1890)

• Description

  See comment #1.

• Inscriptions

  1. (Louise A. Cort, 19 November 1996) Signature of Kanzan Denshichi on the base.

• Label

  Rendered in startling, dark tones and framed by golden clouds is a shadowy landscape where Japanese gods and goddesses have gathered to lure the Sun Goddess Amaterasu from the cave where she has hidden herself following a quarrel with her brother, which has plunged the world into darkness. This famous episode in Shinto mythology concludes with a voluptuous young goddess performing a humorous, erotic dance and Amaterasu pushing the boulder aside to see what is happening outside. The painter of this pair of vases has created an unusual version of this scene that continues around both vessels. One shows the young goddess dancing, while the other shows a rooster crowing in response to the first rays of light. The artist, Kanzan Denshichi, who lived in Kyoto, won international awards for his work, which employed traditional Japanese and Chinese decorative techniques with newly introduced European materials and styles.

• Provenance

  To ca. 1985

  Unknown English dealer. [1]

  From ca. 1985 to 1996

  Andy Saylor, Richmond, Virginia, acquired from an unknown English dealer specializing in furniture. [2]

  From 1996

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Andy Saylor, Richmond, Virginia. [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Curatorial Remark 5 in the object record.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See note 1. See also Acquisition Consideration Form, copy in object file, Collections Management Office.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Real and Imagined Places in Japanese Art (March 4 to October 21, 2001)

  Japanese Art of the Meiji Era (September 20, 1997 to April 26, 1998)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Andy Saylor

• Origin

  Gojozaka, Kyoto, Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1880s, 1870s

• Name

  Saylor, Andy

• Place

  Kyoto, Japan, Gojozaka

• Topic

  Art, Amaterasu, Ceramics, Uzume, Landscapes, Mythological subject, Porcelain, Kyoto ware, Cloud, Japanese Art, Shinto, Enamel and enameling, Meiji era (1868 - 1912)

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)