2-723-538 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Basket of Peonies, 1810 or 1814. A surimono is a privately commissioned print used to announce or commemorate a special event. This picture celebrates an event in the life of the actor Ichikawa Danjuro VII, whose emblem was the peony. According to Japanese tradition, the peony--one of the flowers of the four seasons--is the flower of summer.