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Koto (Zither)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This koto has an elaborately decorated surface, suggesting that it was meant to be admired as a decorative object rather than played as a musical instrument. The vertical design shows a profusion of chrysanthemum flowers and miscanthus grass above a brushwood fence as well as a pair of butterflies.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineKoto (Zither) (箏), early to mid-1800s. Japan, Edo period (1615–1868). Wood with colored lacquer, sprinkled gold powder (maki-e), textile, and silk strings; overall: 117.8 cm (46 3/8 in.); widest end: 23.8 cm (9 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Charles G. King Jr. collection; Gift of Ralph King in memory of Charles G. King Jr., 1918.359
