Badger Studying a Sutra
Artist
Shibata Zeshin
(Japanese, 1807–1891)
Dateca. 1833-1872
GeographyJapan
MediumLacquer on paper
Dimensions6 3/4 x 8 3/8 in. (17.1 x 21.3 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineGift of The James Edward and Mary Louise O'Brien Collection, 1978 (4650.1)
Object number4650.1
DescriptionA plump, bewhiskered, and stump-tailed badger, wearing a long black robe, leans against a low table with the unrolled scroll before him. The badger is gazing out at the viewer with a facetious grin rather than examining the sutra, which may be the artists’s way of utilizing animal satire to mock human scholarly pursuits. Black, brown, and green lacquer on paper. Album leaf mounted as hanging scroll. The white paper of the painting is mounted on rough unbleached paper, mounted with gold brochade.
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