Accession Number
1989/2.6

Title
Tigress and Cubs

Artist(s)
Konoshima Ōkoku

Object Creation Date
1st half of 20th century

Medium & Support
Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk

Dimensions
62 1/2 in x 28 1/16 in (158.75 cm x 71.28 cm);15 3/8 in x 39 in x 3 3/4 in (39.05 cm x 99.06 cm x 9.53 cm)

Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by a gift from Helmut Stern

Label copy
Tigers were a familiar subject in Zen Buddhist painting. In the Edo period, images of tigers were more secularized and became a favorite animal subject of the line of Kyoto painters who sought faithful depiction of the natural world. In this powerful painting, a mother tiger sits protectively between her cubs and the viewer. Contrary to her dominant gesture, her eyes are soft and thoughtful, as if she is trying to look into the viewer’s eyes.
Konoshima Okoku was an indefatigable painter who produced many large screens in the early twentieth century. The same powerful use of color pigment that is characteristic of his screens is evident in this scroll.
(Japanese Gallery Rotation, Spring 2009)

Subject matter
Two cubs lay beneath their mother, whose back is to the viewer, yet curves her head around to face outwards. Her eyes are golden, and look out towards the viewer as if the send a threatening message to stay away. One cub looks up at its mother with closed eyes, perhaps hungry. The mother's white whiskers stand out against the otherwise warm, golden tones of the painting.

Physical Description
Two cubs lay beneath their mother, whose back is to the viewer, yet curves her head around to face outwards. Her eyes are golden, and look out towards the viewer. One cub looks up at its mother with closed eyes. The mother's white whiskers stand out against the otherwise warm, golden tones of the painting.

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
hanging scroll

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
Zen (Japanese Buddhism)
hanging scrolls
ink
paintings (visual works)
wild animals