Ink, color, and gold on paperexpand_more
Gift from the collection of Ann and Mike Birtexpand_more 2021.128
Glimpses of two scenes from the Tale, both involving Lady Murasaki, Genji’s love, emerge through golden clouds in this screen. The left half shows chapter 7, “Beneath the Autumn Leaves,” in which ten-year-old Lady Murasaki is scolded by her nurse for acting like a child and playing with dolls. Two grown women look through the slatted blinds at Genji, who stands on the veranda and looks out at the garden. In the second scene to the right, which depicts chapter 40 “The Law,” Murasaki and Genji sit together as they watch a performer in the garden. He wears a golden mask with a small dragon on top, indicating that he is playing the role of Prince Lan Ling in a court dance. While she appears healthy in the scene, in fact she is deathly ill, and the chapter concludes with her death.
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know
Error loading high resolution image. Report this problem.