Mandarin Ducks and Snow

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Mandarin Ducks and Snow

Artist Ohara Shoson (Japanese, 1877-1945)

Publisher Watanabe Shozaburo (1885-1962)

DatePublished in 1935

Dimensionsoverall: 15 9/16 x 10 3/16 in. (39.5 x 25.9 cm)
image: 14 1/4 x 9 7/16 in. (36.2 x 24 cm)

Mediumcolor woodblock print

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGift of Hubert D. Bennett

Object number

1939.462

Not on View

Label TextThe colorful Mandarin Duck is closely related to the Wood Duck of North America. Because they mate for life, Mandarin Ducks are symbols of marital fidelity. A Japanese folktale tells of a pair of ducks separated when a lord takes the drake to his palace to show off its beautiful plumage. The bird almost dies from grief at being taken from his mate, but two servants bravely conspire to reunite the couple.Exhibition HistoryToledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Modern Japanese Prints: Woodblock Prints by Ten Artists, The Work of the Past Five Years, January 1936, repr. pl. 203.

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, For the Birds, April 13-October 14, 2012.