The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Festival Scenes

1615–99

Japan, Edo period

(1615–1868)
pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper
Overall: 51.1 x 208.9 cm (20 1/8 x 82 1/4 in.)
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith 1985.279
Location: Not on view

Description

Much smaller in size than standard Japanese folding screens, this lively pair depicts all manner of entertainments. Although at first they seem to show an ongoing festival, closer examination reveals that the screens comprise a series of isolated scenes from disparate occasions. In one screen, crowds gather around a bout of sumo wrestling as well as juggling and balancing acts. Elsewhere, teams of men pull a float bearing musicians costumed in foreign dress. There is also a dance circle with drums, a performing monkey, and a party of falconers. In the other screen, male courtiers observe a game of kickball played by noblemen, while their female counterparts watch from behind bamboo curtains. Others enjoy a theater performance. A children’s dance circle and a dance performance with ladies sporting elaborate headgear occupy the center of the screen. A group wielding huge parasols at the upper left of the screen reenacts episodes from legend, as still other performances, including dancing dogs, entertain the crowds below.
  • ?–1973
    (R. Hosomi, Osaka, Japan, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kelvin Smith)
    1973–1985
    The Kelvin Smith Collection, Cleveland, OH, given by Mrs. Kelvin [Eleanor Armstrong] Smith [1899–1998] to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1985–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • “Checklist of the Kelvin Smith Bequest.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 7 (September 1988): 292–295. Mentioned: p. 294 www.jstor.org
    Putney, Carolyn M. Japanese Treasures: The Art of Netsuke Carving in the Toledo Museum of Art. 1st ed. Toledo, OH: Toledo Museum of Art, 2000. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 10 and 11
    Cunningham, Michael R. Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Reproduced: cat. no. 42, p. 77
    Vilbar, Sinéad. “Enhancing East Asia: Experience the Japanese and Korean galleries in new light.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 56, no. 3 (May/June 2016): 23–24. Reproduced: p. 24 archive.org
  • Art in Miniature: Japanese Netsuke from The Toledo Museum of Art. The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH (organizer) (April 20-June 11, 2000).
    A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 14-November 13, 1988).
    Byobu: The Art of the Japanese Screen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1987-January 10, 1988).
    Ukiyo-e: Floating World. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 11-September 2, 1973).
  • {{cite web|title=Festival Scenes|url=false|author=|year=1615–99|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.279