異国人交易図屏風|Foreign Merchants in Japanese Trade Port
1816
ink
panel
From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art
1816
ink
panel
From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art
異国人交易図屏風|Foreign Merchants in Japanese Trade Port is a 1816 ink by Unknown, a Romanticism work, depicting Boat, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This six-panel screen shows busy trade scenes in a port. On the left, merchants unload goods from cages and crates near a rocky shore. People in robes and hats crowd around, some carrying baskets or talking. The middle panels show indoor markets with tables of goods and groups gathered in rooms. On the right, ships sit in the harbor, with sailors and traders moving between decks and shore. One odd detail: a peacock struts near the center panels, standing out against the busy crowds. The ships look like they’re from Europe, while the buildings mix Japanese and foreign styles. Look up peacock to see how artists used them as symbols in old trade scenes.
