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Birds and Flowers

花鳥図

mid-1400s-early 1500s

attributed to Sesshū Tōyō 雪舟等楊

(Japanese, 1420–1506)
Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573)
Hanging scroll from a triptych; ink and color on silk
Image: 55.9 x 53.4 cm (22 x 21 in.); Overall: 117 x 58 cm (46 1/16 x 22 13/16 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1964.157.1
Location: not on view
Public Domain
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Description

This is one of two paintings possibly by Sesshū Tōyō. They once flanked a central scroll with an ink landscape. The unbalanced nature of the compositions, however, suggests they may be images recycled from larger paintings. The one with sweet osmanthus and hibiscus is an autumn scene, the other is a summer scene with daylilies and gardenias. Folding screens often contrast two seasons or depict all four across a single pair of screens. Sesshū’s works were sufficiently prized that repurposing them in fragmentary form to display in an alcove of a luxurious room would not be an unusual choice.
Birds and Flowers

Birds and Flowers

mid-1400s-early 1500s

Sesshū Tōyō

(Japanese, 1420–1506)
Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573)

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