Storage bag (shifuku) for tea-ceremony utensil

White silk background with a honeycomb pattern woven throughout. There is gold floral and green leaf motif embroidered throughout the silk. There is a gold metallic thread woven into the motif. This bag is in very poor condition. The interior and exterior silk is heavily shredded and torn. The interior of this bag is lined with four different color silk panels: 1) brown with a tan floral motif 2) yellow with a leaf-like motif *These two panels have no tears, but they are no longer attached at the seam. 3) blue with a ying-yang symbol surrounded by a cloud-like motif * This panel is shredded and torn. 4) light blue with an abstract panel. This light blue silk is also used for the interior bottom circular panel. *Both panels are in extremely poor condition. They are heavily discolored, shredded and torn. The exterior of the bag is heavily discolored. The seam along the exterior circular bottom panel is heavily torn. The drawstring is missing.

Historical period(s)
Edo period or Meiji era, 19th century
Medium
Silk, gold threads
Dimensions
H x W (flat): 14 x 19.5 cm (5 1/2 x 7 11/16 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Freer Gallery of Art Study Collection, Smithsonian Institution
Collection
Freer Study Collection
Accession Number
FSC-T-22
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Costume and Textile
Type

Bag

Keywords
Edo period (1615 - 1868), flower, Japan, Meiji era (1868 - 1912), tea
Provenance

?-1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), method of acquisition unknown [1]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [2]

Notes:
[1] This bag once held a ceramic owned by Charles Lang Freer but was separated from that ceramic at an unknown time for an unknown reason, most likely after Freer's collection was brought to Washington, DC (see note 2).

[2] 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 of Art.

Research Completed on March 23, 2022

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Description

White silk background with a honeycomb pattern woven throughout. There is gold floral and green leaf motif embroidered throughout the silk. There is a gold metallic thread woven into the motif. This bag is in very poor condition. The interior and exterior silk is heavily shredded and torn. The interior of this bag is lined with four different color silk panels: 1) brown with a tan floral motif 2) yellow with a leaf-like motif *These two panels have no tears, but they are no longer attached at the seam. 3) blue with a ying-yang symbol surrounded by a cloud-like motif * This panel is shredded and torn. 4) light blue with an abstract panel. This light blue silk is also used for the interior bottom circular panel. *Both panels are in extremely poor condition. They are heavily discolored, shredded and torn. The exterior of the bag is heavily discolored. The seam along the exterior circular bottom panel is heavily torn. The drawstring is missing.

Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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