
Jeff Olson
Director
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US$20,000 - US$30,000
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Director
Provenance:
Purchased Marshall Fields, Chicago, 1976.
For Momoyama/early Edo period screens of wisteria supported on a fence or trellis, please see Nihon byōbue shūsei: dai 7-kan, kachōga: shiki sōka (Compendium of Japanese Screen Painting: vol. 7, Bird-and Flower Painting: Seasonal Flowers and Grasses), Tokyo, 1980, pp. 26-29, 111 and pls. 9 and 10.
This bold depiction of blossoming wisteria on a trellis is evocative of late spring and early summer when this hardy plant is most vibrant. As early as the Heian period (794-1185) aristocrats enjoyed wisteria viewing parties, popularized in part by the empress Fujiwara no Shoshi (988-1074), daughter of Fujiwara no Michinaga (966-1028) who earned the nickname Fujitsubo because of the wisteria (fuji) she cultivated in the inner gardens of her mansion.