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Dragon and Tiger

龍虎図屏風

c. 1546–56

Sesson Shūkei 雪村周継

(Japanese, c. 1492–c. 1577)
Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573) to Momoyama period (1573–1615)
One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink on paper
Painting: 157.3 x 339 cm (61 15/16 x 133 7/16 in.); Framed: 172.3 x 354 cm (67 13/16 x 139 3/8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1959.136.2
Location: not on view
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Did You Know?

Although the theme of this painting derives from Chinese philosophy and pictorial culture, Sesson's tiger is likely modeled after Korean prototypes of the Joseon period circulating in Japan.

Description

In Chinese cosmology, the tiger's roar is said to produce wind. In Chinese paintings, the tiger is often shown with a dragon, who creates rain clouds. Together, they represent the balancing forces of the universe. Chinese presentations of the theme, often in hanging scroll format, provided the basic composition for the pair of screens to which this one belongs.
Dragon and Tiger

Dragon and Tiger

c. 1546–56

Sesson Shūkei

(Japanese, c. 1492–c. 1577)
Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573) to Momoyama period (1573–1615)

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