Tekagami, album with segments of calligraphy

Object Details

• Author

  Karasumaru Mitsuei (1688-1748)

• Description

  Folded book with cloth covers comprising more than 100 segments of decorated and plain paper inscribed with texts—mostly sections of traditional poetry and Buddhist scriptures—written in the hands of illustrious calligraphers and historical figures. As customary of tekagami 手鑑 (mirror of exemplary handwritings), and each segment of text is paired with a separate label which identifies the calligrapher’s name.

• Provenance

  From 1980s to 2019

  Alan Kennedy, Los Angeles, California, purchased in Tokyo in the mid-1980s [1]

  From 2019

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Alan Kennedy, Los Angeles California [2]

  Notes:

  [1] According to information provided by the donor, he purchased the album in the mid-1980s in Tokyo, Japan. See Curatorial Remark 1, object record, Collections Management Office.

  [2] See Deed of Gift, object file, Collections Management Office.

• Collection

  Freer Study Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Alan Kennedy

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Alan Kennedy in honor of Louise Cort

• Type

  Album

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  700s, 1790s

• Name

  Kennedy, Alan

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Art, Japanese Art

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Albums