"Snow": calligraphy scroll / Muan Xingtao (aka (J. Ôbaku Mokuan))

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About this Item

Record Details

Accession Number
1986/1.205
Title
"Snow": calligraphy scroll
Artist Nationality
Chinese
Artist Life Dates
1611-1684
Medium and Support
ink on paper
Object Creation Date
circa 1655-1675
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
China (nation)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
China (nation)
Style/Group/Movement
Zen
Inscription
Signature and three seals of the artist
Dimensions
28.42 cm x 66.52 cm (11 3/16 in. x 26 3/16 in.)
Century
17th century
Primary Object Classification
Painting
Primary Object Type
calligraphy
Secondary Object Classification
Painting
Secondary Object Type
hanging scroll
Physical Description
The large character for snow in block script is juxtaposed with lines of smaller characters in running script. The large character is drawn with unhurried, thick, even strokes in dense, unbroken black ink with blunt contours, while the smaller characters are brushed rapidly, with strokes of varying thickness, a pronounced diagonal tilt, and sharp edges.
Subject Matter
Muan Xingtao (known in Japan as Mokuan) was a native of Fujian, China. He took his monastic vows at Wanfusi Monastery at the age of eighteen and in 1655 followed his mentor to Japan, where he helped to found several monasteries. Muan became the second abbot of Manpukuji in Uji, the great Ôbaku Zen sect’s monastery on the southern outskirts of Kyoto.
The calligraphy reads, “Snow: the fragrance of the plum blossoms in snow catches my nose.”
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
1463 x 645
File Size
97 KB
Record
1986/1.205
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1986-sl-1.205/1986_1.205.jpg

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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1986-SL-1.205:1986_1.205.JPG

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""Snow": calligraphy scroll; Muan Xingtao (aka (J. Ôbaku Mokuan))." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1986-sl-1.205/1986_1.205.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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