Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333) / late 1200s–early 1300s
Swift Bull from the Ten Swift Bulls
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Swift Bull from the Ten Swift Bulls as painting (Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333) · late 1200s–early 1300s).
We know the original scroll had ten bulls because a copy of the complete scroll exists.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as section of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink and slight color on paper.
The museum's collection notes: Across the world, animals once played a much larger role in the transportation of the elite. Members of Japan’s imperial court traveled in vehicles pulled by oxen until the late 1400s, when oxcarts were restricted to ceremonial use. One sign of the past importance of the ox as a status symbol survives in this fragment from a scroll of portraits of 10 speedy bulls. The painter layered washes containing differing ratios of black ink to water to create a three-dimensional effect.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtSwift Bull from the Ten Swift BullsOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.