Twelve Kacho

Maker(s)
Artist: Ogata Gekkō 尾形月耕 (1859-1920)
Historical period(s)
Meiji era, 1899
Medium
Ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H x W (image): 23.8 x 30.2 cm (9 3/8 x 11 7/8 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Robert O. Muller Collection
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S2003.8.1742
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Print
Type

Woodblock print

Keywords
horse, Japan, Meiji era (1868 - 1912), monkey, Robert O. Muller collection
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

Gekko postulates a delightful encounter between a trained monkey and a painted image of a horse. The monkey, a performer in a New Year's entertainment usually offered in shrines, confronts a painted horse on a votive plaque. Bearing a staff affixed with paper streamers, Gekko's monkey parodies a Shinto ritual gesture for purifying space. Paintings of heightened verisimilitude were sometimes thought to have a magical power that could transform the image into reality, and legends exist about such horses galloping off the wooden plaques.

Published References
  • Charlotte Dumas. "Het paard in de kalebas." The Horse in the Gourd. Leiden, Netherlands. p. 45.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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