Description
Exotic birds and tobacco—Western imports—feature in this composition. Peacocks and parrots were brought to Japan by Dutch traders in the 1700s. Many of the visitors to this teahouse, which specialized in displays of foreign birds, admire the unusual fowl while sipping tea and smoking long pipes. The birds have attracted curious courtesans, entertainers, samurai, merchants and their wives, and even a Buddhist monk.
Provenance
Mr. Jeptha Homer Wade II [1857–1926] and Mrs. Ellen Garretson Wade [1859–1917], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?–1916); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1916–)
Accession Number
1916.1113
Medium
Triptych of color woodblock prints
Dimensions
Each: 39.2 x 26.4 cm (15 7/16 x 10 3/8 in.)
Classification
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade