Kozuka with the Celestial Shepard (Jp. "Hikoboshi")
(Japanese Military Armor)
This kozuka depicts the Shepard (Jp. "Hikoboshi") who is separated from his lover, the Weaving Maiden (Jp. "Orihime") by the Milky Way. The celestial lovers meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Their meeting is celebrated in Japan as the Tanabata festival. The Shepard and the Maiden are the stars Altair and Vega. The constellation containing Altair is shown on the right side of the kozuka, above clouds. The Shepard drives an ox in front of him. Two small birds in flight are at the upper left. On the reverse, incised lines indicate water.
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.
Geographies
Japan (Place of Origin)
Measurements
3 3/4 in. (9.6 cm) (l.)
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.
51.675