Okame with Plum Branch
Artist
Shibata Zeshin
(Japanese, 1807–1891)
Dateca. 1873-1891
GeographyJapan
MediumInk and color on silk
Dimensions18 x 31 in. (45.7 x 78.7 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineGift of The James Edward and Mary Louise O'Brien Collection, 1977 (4591.1)
Object number4591.1
DescriptionOkame is the Goddess of Mirth, conventionally depicted in a humorous manner with puffed out cheeks, small smiling mouth, and narrow forehead, ornamented with two black dots. Zeshin has painted her portrait on a fan-shaped red piece of paper, which curls at the edge, in a trompe-l’oeil effect, to reveal a gold, green, and cream lacquer tray in the fan-shape benath. She is depicted in a mustard and gold kimono with pink scarf. To the left is a calligraphic plum branch, a classic exercize in black, brown, and white inks.On View
On viewCollections
