Artwork
The Sand-Carrying Festival (Sunamochi Matsuri)
The Sand-Carrying Festival (Sunamochi Matsuri) is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1856 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work portrays a bustling waterfront celebration teeming with participants.
About this work
Technique & Style
The work is a 1856 painting on paper, created in Japan using traditional techniques. It depicts the Sand-Carrying Festival (Sunamochi Matsuri) as a subject. The artwork is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art collection and was made in Japan. The piece is classified as a painting.
History & Provenance
The Sand-Carrying Festival (Sunamochi Matsuri) is dated to 1856, with the inception recorded as 1856-01-01 and the work identified as a painting made in Japan.
The Sand-Carrying Festival (Sunamochi Matsuri) is dated to 1856, with the inception recorded as 1856-01-01 and the work identified as a painting made in Japan. The work is attributed to Sakai Basai, a Japanese artist whose dates remain unknown, and is catalogued by accession number 1991.44. It is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is located. No information regarding commission, prior ownership, or earlier provenance is documented in the available sources.
The Sand-Carrying Festival (Sunamochi Matsuri) is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work carries the accession number 1991.44. While the museum attributes the painting to Sakai Basai with a creation date of 1856, the provided records do not list specific past exhibitions or loan history for this object.
Overview
The work portrays a bustling waterfront celebration teeming with participants. Bright banners flutter above a sea of red lanterns, while a kaleidoscope of umbrellas shades crowds gathered along the banks. Figures in traditional robes and hats transport buckets, and decorated vessels glide past bridges, all set against distant hills beneath a muted sky.
Subject & Meaning
The scene captures a communal festival, likely a local ritual centered on the water, where the act of carrying sand or other materials signifies collective effort. The inclusion of a striking red crab among the revelers hints at a symbolic or mythic element tied to the event’s folklore, emphasizing the intertwining of daily labor and celebration.
Artist & collection
Genre Scenes (Fuzoku byobu)
Li Wenzhong Clears the North
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洛中洛外図屏風|Scenes in and around the Capital
Picture of Minamoto no Yoritomo's Hunt on the Slopes of Mount Fuji
Tōtō Ryōgokubashi natsu keshiki|Panoramic View of Ryōgoku Bridge in the Summer
「高陽院駒競行幸絵巻」『栄花物語』 断簡|"Imperial Visit to the Great Horse Race at the Kaya-no-in Mansion" from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes
祇園大鳥居屏風|The Torii Gate of Gion Shrine
An Unfortunate Tale, III
