About two months ago, curator of Asian art Shawn Eichman wrote a compelling blog post about acquiring HoMA’s first Okinawan painting, which finally closed a gap in the collection he had been ruminating about for years.

He wrote about seeing the artwork for the first time: “As he brought it from a back room, opened the box, and gently unrolled it, my heart rate increased, my breath became short, and I could barely contain my excitement. Once again, though, I had no idea what I was looking at, other than that while the subject was the familiar one of a tiger under bamboo, the brushwork was unlike anything I had ever seen in either Chinese or Japanese art.”

With a description like that, many HoMA blog readers wondered when this artwork might go on view. We have good news for you! It’s now on display in the current exhibition Lacquer and Clay: Okinawan Art. (Ideal timing, wouldn’t you say?)

Now go pay the 19th-century painting a visit so you can fall in love with it just as Eichman did!