Landscape with flowering vines

early 17th century

The graceful curves of trailing vines—bottle gourd (yugao) and morning glory—dominate this landscape scene. The roof of a small thatched hut appears at the lower left. Gold leaf and particles are extensively applied to depict land banks and clouds; stylized waves painted with silver pigment have darkened with age. The extensive use of gold in large-format Japanese paintings such as folding screens and the sliding panels that form the movable “walls” of rooms in elite traditional residences was not merely decorative in intent. Gold reflected