??; Melons; Muromachi period (1392-1573); late 16th century; Japan; Hanging scroll; ink on paper; Image: 13 1/4 x 18 1/8 in. (33.6 x 46 cm); Paintings; Yamada Doan (Japanese; second half of the 16th century); Images of fruits and vegetables; like this pair of melons; were often displayed in Zen temples and served as symbolic offerings to Buddhist icons. Although such images were already being made by the Song dynasty in China; ink paintings of isolated fruits and vegetables became exceedingly popular in the late Muromachi-period Japan; where they were associated with the celebrated Chinese Chan (Japanese: Zen) painter Muqi (ca