Mimosa tree, poppies and other summer flowers 合歓木芥子図屏風
date: label: Date
content: 1630-1670
label: Period
content: Edo period
name: label: Artist
content: Tawaraya Sosetsu 俵屋宗雪 (active mid-17th century)
notes: label: Label
content: Against a gold-leafed background, a lush garden grows beneath the fronds of a mimosa tree. The artist has expertly applied thin washes of ink and pigment, allowing the color to pool, suggesting the variations in natural hues of foliage and flowers. This folding screen was constructed from four individual sliding panels that would have been set in rails between two rooms. The artist is identified only by a circular seal, I'nen, which identifies the painter as a member of the atelier of Sotatsu (active circa 1600-1640). Sotatsu was an innovative artist whose distinctive style of painting was carried on intermittently by artists of the Rimpa School, named after Ogata Korin (1658-1716) and characterized by innovative ideas about design and materials. More than one artist used the I'nen seal, but among Sotatsu's followers, Sosetsu's reputation was the most prominent. Because of its high artistic and technical quality, this screen has traditionally been associated with his name.
label: Provenance
content: To 1902
label: Provenance
content: Yamanaka & Company, to 1902 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1902 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1902 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Screen List, L. 57, pg. 14, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Rinpa Screens (February 25, 2023 to February 24, 2024)
label: Exhibition History
content: Sotatsu: Making Waves (Saturday, October 24, 2015 to Sunday, January 31, 2016)
label: Exhibition History
content: Seasons: Japanese Screens (July 9, 2011 to January 22, 2012)
label: Exhibition History
content: Gold: The Asian Touch (September 10, 2005 to February 20, 2006)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art (October 2, 1975 to October 8, 1976)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art—Paintings (September 16, 1970 to May 2, 1973)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art, Galleries 3, 4, and 5 (January 1, 1963 to September 16, 1970)
label: Exhibition History
content: Special Exhibition—Japanese Art (October 16, 1963 to August 18, 1967)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 3 and 4 (February 25, 1956 to January 1, 1963)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Screens (October 3, 1947 to November 10, 1955)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: tree
label: Topic
content: flower
label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1902.92
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink, color and gold on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 167.4 x 353.4 cm (65 7/8 x 139 1/8 in)