Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Tsuba with Taikobo (Ch. Tai Gongwong) Fishing without Bait
(Japanese Military Armor)
At the right of this tsuba, sits the sage Taikôbô (Ch. Tai Gongwang) fishing. His tea pot and basket are sitting behind him on the reverse. Taikôbô did not use bait, because he did not actually want to catch fish. He used fishing as an excuse to think about scientific questions. He met 12th-century BC emperor Wu Wang when the emperor was hunting and Taikôbô was fishing. The emperor was so impressed with Taikôbô, that he asked him to serve as a counselor. Taikôbô served the emperor for twenty years.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2007-2008 | Déjà Vu? Recurrence. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Japan, Mito (Place of Origin)
Measurements
2 5/8 x 2 7/16 in. (6.7 x 6.2 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
51.191