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Reception for Commodore Perry by Japanese Noblemen

Asian Art

MEDIUM Color woodblock print
  • Place Made: Japan
  • DATES ca. 1887
    PERIOD Meiji Period
    DIMENSIONS 14 x 20 3/8 in. (35.6 x 51.8 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER X729.3
    CREDIT LINE Brooklyn Museum Collection
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION This scene shows a Japanese reception for American officers, who were brought to Japan by Commodore Matthew Perry in 1854. At the reception, the American officers are shown wearing naval uniforms; the Japanese officers wear traditional formal garments (monpuku). Those in the foreground sit in the traditional pose, holding swords and facing inward. A black curtain hangs above the guests platform at the right. This curtain indicates the higher rank of the officers seated under it. This event is recorded as having taken place on February 10th, 1854 at Yokohama. Under the order of the governor of Uranga, Izawa Mimasaka no kami, the artist Takagawa Bunsen painted the original design which here has been reproduced by the printmaker Sensai Eiko. The copyright and the right of publication are held by the publisher Akiyama Mataro (Tokyo). The title of the reception is given above the picture.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Reception for Commodore Perry by Japanese Noblemen, ca. 1887. Color woodblock print, 14 x 20 3/8 in. (35.6 x 51.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X729.3 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, X729.3_PS2.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, X729.3_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009
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     <em>Reception for Commodore Perry by Japanese Noblemen</em>, ca. 1887. Color woodblock print, 14 x 20 3/8 in. (35.6 x 51.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X729.3 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, X729.3_PS2.jpg)