Rooster and Hen
Artist:
Hara Zaichu
(Japan, 1750 - 1837)
Place made:Japan
General region:Asia
Culture: Japanese
Period: Edo period
Date: ca. 1820
Medium: Hanging scroll; Colors on silk
Dimensions:
39 3/8 × 15 3/4 in. (100 × 40 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by the Bessie Timon Endowment
Object number: 2019.8
Provenance: Collection of Kyong and Joe Brotherton
Label Text
A rooster and hen sitting on a vine-covered drum is a Chinese symbol of peace. Its symbolism draws on an ancient Chinese custom of placing drums on the borders of territories as boundary markers. If a village seemed threatened by thieves or malevolent forces, someone would pound the drum as a warning. In times of peace, when the drum was not in use, vines would grow over it, and birds would use it to roost.
Hara Zaichu live his entire life in Kyoto where he was a court painter and founder of the Hara school of painters. Classically trained in Kano school techniques, Zaichu also admired the master of the naturalist style, Maruyama Ōkyo (1733¬–95). This rooster and hen scroll reflects the characteristics—decorative, precise, and elegant —for which Zaichu is renown.
Hara Zaichu live his entire life in Kyoto where he was a court painter and founder of the Hara school of painters. Classically trained in Kano school techniques, Zaichu also admired the master of the naturalist style, Maruyama Ōkyo (1733¬–95). This rooster and hen scroll reflects the characteristics—decorative, precise, and elegant —for which Zaichu is renown.
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.
