2022.447: Painted Lantern

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2022.447

People

Matsumura Keibun 松村景文, Japanese (1779 - 1843)

Title

Painted Lantern

Classification

Lighting Devices

Work Type

lighting device

Date

first half 19th century

Places

Creation Place: East Asia, Japan

Period

Edo period, 1615-1868

Culture

Japanese

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/340462

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Wood frame; ink and color on silk

Dimensions

H. 79.5 cm (31 5/16 in.)
W. 29.9 cm (11 3/4 in.)
D. 30.2 cm (11 7/8 in.)

Inscriptions and Marks

• signature: of artist; in red:
  景文 [Keibun]
• seal: of artist; square, intaglio:
  景文之印 [Keibun no in]

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

[Gallery Hosomi Kokan, Tokyo (by 1987)], sold; to Robert S. and Betsy G. Feinberg, Bethesda, MD (1987-2022), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2022.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Robert S. and Betsy G. Feinberg

Accession Year

2022

Object Number

2022.447

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

The delicate silk surfaces collectively bear a continuous composition that unfurls around the lantern to show two small birds, likely Java sparrows (bunchō), alighting on the blooming branches of a blue lace-cap hydrangea. This work showcases Keibun’s particular talent for charming and meticulously rendered bird-and-flower subjects. One of the panels can be lifted to allow access to the lantern’s interior cavity, which contains a recessed area in which a light source can be placed. Originally, the lantern was designed to hold a small metal dish for oil or a candle; the Feinbergs modified the lantern to accommodate an electric bulb. (A drawer in the base was perhaps intended to hold supplies.) Once lit, the flickering of the flame inside would have provided additional suggestive dynamism to the fitful movements of the small birds and a rich, interior luster to the flower petals. The execution is testament to Keibun’s level of skill: though highly detailed, each layer of colored pigment must be applied lightly and without significant overpainting in order for light to travel through the painted surface evenly, avoiding areas of infelicitous buildup that would draw the viewer’s attention and distract from the overall composition.

Publication History

• Rachel Saunders, ed., Catalogue of the Feinberg Collection of Japanese Art, brochure, Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, 2021), pp. 109-110, cat. 102

Verification Level