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Gift Cover (Fukusa) with Tale of Genji Shell-Matching Game
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Japanese elites once presented gifts in boxes with gift covers ( fukusa ) draped over them. The decorated covers were typically lined with a monochrome backing, but this one’s borders are exposed. Its design is a Tale of Genji shell-matching game. Two clamshells shown in close-up are painted with scenes from two chapters of the novel. The one on the bottom is an episode from the “Kochō” (Butterflies) chapter, in which Genji’s beloved Murasaki sends her young attendants to dance for the empress. The one on the top may depict Genji writing a poem in the “Suzumushi” (Bell Cricket) chapter.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineGift Cover (Fukusa) with Tale of Genji Shell-Matching Game (源氏絵貝合図刺繍袱紗), 1868–1912. Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912). Silk: embroidered; metallic thread; overall: 85.1 x 72.4 cm (33 1/2 x 28 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade, 1916.1319
