Sumo Referee’s Accessory with Daoist Motif
19th century
Physical Qualities
Burl wood, metal alloy, original silk cord, 16 9/16 × 7 1/16 × 1 3/16 in. (42 × 18 × 3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Stephen W. Fisher, Baltimore
Object Number
2019.215
This object, shaped like a Chinese military flag, would have been used by a referree or umpire to call the winner of a Sumo match. The characters, which mean "dragon sings/tiger roars," alluding to yin-yang, are suggestive of Chinese Daoism. A sun and moon, along with stars representing the Big Dipper constellation, are affixed to the other side.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2019; Stephen W. Fisher, Baltimore
Collection installation, "Asia.The Art & Business of Writing", Levy Gallery, Baltimore Museum of Art, October 5, 2023-
Inscribed: Inscription on verso: "dragon sings/tiger roars"