Japanese Gilt Wood Arch

Grapes everywhere, and squirrels too, stealing their share.

This gilt wood arch comes from Japan and dates to the Edo Period (1615 – 1868 CE). It is carved and gilded wood. The grapevine with squirrels is a long-favored motif in East Asian art, generally read as a wish for abundance and many descendants. Here deeply carved leaves, tendrils and heavy bunches of grapes crowd the arch from end to end. Small squirrels climb and leap through the vines along both sides. Gilding covers the carving over a red ground, which shows through between the leaves. The legs taper to carved points at the bottom. It is 46.5 inches wide and 29.5 high.

An archway that is mostly lunch.