Paint Brush
maker
Unknown
Date19th century
Place MadeJapan, East Asia
MediumAnimal hair, bamboo
Dimensions19.5 cm (7 11/16 in.)
ClassificationsTools and Equipment
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberU3n6
eMuseum ID721295
EmbARK ObjectID13343
Previous NumberTEMP Case 9a.1, Okakura 1
TMS Source ID2310
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis brush commemorates Isabella Stewart Gardner’s close friendship with scholar Okakura Kakuzo. The two became close while he served as curator of Asian art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. They spent many days engrossed in conversation at her museum, where he once presided over the Japanese tea ceremony. When he passed away, she placed this brush in the Blue Room of her museum next to a poem he had written and given to her.
MarksNotesInscribed in green, blue, and red ink (on handle) in Japanese.
ProvenanceNotesProbably a gift from the Japanese art historian and philosopher, Okakura Kakuzo (1862-1913) to Isabella Stewart Gardner before 1913.
