The Cup of Long Life

Printed in the spring of 1883, this surimono by Shibata Zeshin uses the motif of "The Cup of Long Life" - a felicitous emblem associated with sake-drinking rituals, New Year celebrations, and wishes for longevity - as the centerpiece of a poetry sheet. Such auspicious motifs were standard fare for kyoka clubs at the turn of the year, when surimono were exchanged among club members and as gifts to patrons. Zeshin's treatment is concise and elegant: the cup or vessel is rendered with the textured surface effects he was famous for in lacquer painting, including the subtle metallic and pearlescent pigments that the surimono format permitted. The Art Institute of Chicago's catalogue places the sheet in spring 1883, the season of its commission. Coming five years before Zeshin's appointment as Artist to the Imperial Household, sheets like this show him still fully engaged with the literary print tradition even as his lacquer paintings were earning him international medals.