Koto (Zither)
1800–1868
- Medium
- Wood with colored lacquer, sprinkled gold powder (maki-e), textile, and silk strings
- Dimensions
- Overall: 117.8 cm (46 3/8 in.); Widest end: 23.8 cm (9 3/8 in.)
- Genre
- Musical instrument
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art
Styles
Tags
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
About
This koto has an elaborately decorated surface, suggesting that it was meant to be admired as a decorative object rather than played as a musical instrument. The vertical design shows a profusion of chrysanthemum flowers and miscanthus grass above a brushwood fence as well as a pair of butterflies.