Bathing Arhats
Artist:
Gyokuichi Nagahara
(Japanese, ca. 1860 - 1910)
Place made:Japan
General region:Asia
Culture: Japanese
Date: ca. 1870
Medium: Yūzen dyeing on silk
Dimensions:
Image, each: 52 1/4 × 27 in. (132.7 × 68.6 cm)
Overall with mounting, each: 84 × 32 9/16 in. (213.4 × 82.7 cm)
Overall with knobs, each: 84 × 35 in. (213.4 × 88.9 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Lillie and Roy Cullen Endowment Fund
Object number: 2019.10.a-b
Signed: Rokujuichi Ou Gyokuichi (Sixty-one Years Old Man Gyokuichi)
Bibliography:
Meiji Modern
Label Text
Arhats are disciples of the Buddha whose purpose is to spread his teachings. This pair of scrolls is an exceptional depiction of Arhats bathing executed in the difficult textile technique of yūzen dyeing. Yūzen dyeing uses a rice paste resist to prevent colors from transferring into other areas of fabric. The designs of figures who bathe, shave, and trim their nails are rendered in exquisite detail. This unusual scene replicates a pair of paintings from a set of 100 scrolls depicting 500 Arhats created by Kano Kazunobu (1816–1863) for the Zōjō-ji temple in Edo (now Tokyo). This pair of yūzen-dyed scrolls appears to be unique; they were unknown until 2019 when SAMA was able to purchase them from a shop in Austin.
Not on view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
