The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 29, 2023

Poem Card Box with Lid

1868–1912

Part of a set. See all set records

Kamisaka Sekka 神坂 雪佳

(Japanese, 1866–1942)

Japan, Meiji period

(1868-1912)

Wood with lacquer

Overall: 37.5 x 7.1 cm (14 3/4 x 2 13/16 in.)

Seventy-fifth anniversary gift of Leighton R. Longhi 1991.120

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Poems written on long poetry cards, or <em>tanzaku,</em> are often collected into albums called<em> tekagami</em> in Japanese.

Description

Long, decorated cards for the calligraphic presentation of poems are called tanzaku in Japanese. This box is a collaboration between the designer Kamisaka Sekka and the lacquer artist Iwamura Sadazō. Together, they crafted this box with a golden bamboo lid, and filled it with cards decorated with gold leaf designs.

Provenance
?-1991
Leighton R. Longhi, New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1991-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1992.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 80, no. 2, 1993, pp. 38–79. Mentioned: no. 393, p. 77 www.jstor.org
Exhibition history

Signs of Affection: Gifts Honoring the Museum's 75th Anniversary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27, 1992-January 3, 1993).

Rinpa (琳派) (Japanese gallery rotation) 235. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 23-October 3, 2021).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1991.120