Portrait of Fujiwara no Kamatari (Translation)
藤原鎌足像 室町時代 粟田口隆光筆 絹本着色 (Primary Title)
painted scroll (Object Name)
Awataguchi Takamitsu, Japanese, active 1429 - 1442 (Artist)
Fujiwara no Kamatari (614–669) was a powerful court official who assisted Prince Naka Oe, later Emperor Tenji, with a series of reforms that helped establish a centralized government in 645. Before his death in 669, he was rewarded by the emperor with the imperial family name of Fujiwara. Kamatari’s portrait was often commissioned for temple rituals, and he appears here seated on a platform in formal court attire. The ritual tablet in his hands and the sword around his waist symbolize his high courtly status.
Yamato-e 大和絵, Nise-e 似絵
Muromachi period (1392-1573)
Unsigned
None
No inscription on the image. A conservation treatment recorded on reserse providing the title, the name of painter Awataguchi Takamitsu (active 1429-42) and the conservation date of Bunmei 11 (1479): 大織冠真影今拝厚恩仍図其像敬捧香華/寄薬園清澄永々繁昌奉修行之敬白今此/画者粟田口法眼隆光筆也破損之間奉加/修複畢 文明十一年(己／亥) 五月廿八日[May 28, 1479] 大法師盛宗
Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund
"Five Years of Collecting," VMFA, March 25, 1980 - May 4, 1980
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.