Waves

About the Artwork

Nakamura Hōchū painted waves on this handheld fan to bring coolness to the mind of its bearer. While fragile paper fans are often used for a single season, this one was cherished for its design. Someone carefully removed it from its folding apparatus and converted it into a hanging scroll for occasional enjoyment in an alcove.

Provenance

?–1999: (London Gallery, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1999–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), Cleveland, OH (June 9-August 20, 2006). Rinpa (琳派). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 23-October 3, 2021).

Quick Overview

Artist: Nakamura Hōchū (Japanese, d. 1819)
Date: late 1700s-early 1800s
Medium: fan painting mounted as a hanging scroll; ink and color with gold on paper
Dimensions: Image: 39.8 x 53 cm (15 11/16 x 20 7/8 in.); Overall: 126.4 x 61.3 cm (49 3/4 x 24 1/8 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Japanese Art
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
Accession no.: 1999.90

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.