SHIBATA ZESHIN (1807-1891), JAPAN, MEIJI PERIOD, LATE 19TH CENTURY

Zeshin, a keen-eyed naturalist, transforms a tray meant for clothing into an evocative moonlit landscape. Seen from a low vantage point, a full moon of pale, parchment-color lacquer illuminates a gently sloping hillock with mottled black lacquer surface. Two crickets stand out with startling, playful clarity in polished black lacquer. Pampas grasses echo the rounded forms of the moon and hillside in slender lines of gold and black lacquer weighted with silver dewdrops that glisten in the moonlight. The dark, green-brown sky enhances the dreamlike atmosphere. This intimate close-up of nature suggests a low window opening onto a garden in autumn, a season that evokes a sense of melancholy and regret for the passing of time. In Japan, gazing at the moon and listening to the sounds of insects have long been tranquil ways to spend an autumn evening.