Cleveland Museum of Art

Birds and Flowers

Sesshū TōyōLinkedCulture matchlcp-62d22026878d

Date: mid-1400s–early 1500s
Medium: Hanging scroll from a triptych; ink and color on silk
Culture: Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573)
Department: Japanese Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 140158

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

This is one of two paintings possibly by Sesshū Tōyō. They once flanked a central scroll with an ink landscape. The unbalanced nature of the compositions, however, suggests they may be images recycled from larger paintings. The one with sweet osmanthus and hibiscus is an autumn scene, the other is a summer scene with daylilies and gardenias. Folding screens often contrast two seasons or depict all four across a single pair of screens. Sesshū’s works were sufficiently prized that repurposing them in fragmentary form to display in an alcove of a luxurious room would not be an unusual choice.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line: Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Provenance: ?-1964: Mrs. A. Dean Perry [Helen Wade Greene Perry] [1911-1996], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art | 1964-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH