Permanent collection
Pair of Namban Screens with Maps of the World and Japan
- Year
- 1690
- Medium
- Ink, coloured pigments and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- 104.5 × 267 cm (each)
- Accession
- LAD 2016.009.001
- Status
- On display
Painted in Japan around 1690, this pair of folding screens in the Namban style presents a map of the world alongside a map of Japan. Namban (“southern barbarian”) art emerged from Japan’s encounters with Portuguese and other European traders who arrived by sea via the Indian Ocean, and these screens translate European cartographic models into the Japanese tradition of gold-ground painting. Louvre Abu Dhabi collection.