The Cup of Long Life
spring 1883
Medium
Color woodblock print; surimono
Dimensions
57.4 × 43.3 cm (22 5/8 × 17 1/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
43726
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This colorful print shows an engraved black-lacquer box and a red-lacquer sake cup with myriad characters. The box is inscribed “long life sake cup,” and the cup is covered with the many different versions of the character for “long life” (kotobuki). There were traditionally 100 variations of this character, emphasizing this number as the ultimate in longevity. The host of this print was the poet, author, and essayist Kameda Hozan. Many examples of large-scale surimono by Shibata Zeshin exist; ...
About the Artist
Shibata Zeshin · 1807–1891
Japanese, 1807–1891