Polly Ngala Furniture

material: paper and cloth Unfolded size: 1600 x 1660 mm Can be folded in half: 800 x 1660 mm, 6 kg Estimated packing size: （Sandwich with 9mm plywood) 10 × 88 × 175cm 23kg A bold c...

Kano Naonobu (1607-1650) Plum Tree and Birds Six-fold Japanese Screen. Ink and slight color on paper. In this evocative ink work spread over a six-panel folding screen, we see the consummation of the elegance and refinement of the Edo Kano school. This 17th century screen is a rare surviving example of a large-scale bird and flower painting by Kano Naonobu, the younger brother of Kano Tanyu...

Material: Paper on wooden frame One piece: W610×H1710mm×D17mm, Unfolded size: W3690mm Folded size: W625×H1710×D105mm, 13kg Estimate packing size: (sandwiched with 5-10mm plywood): 18...

Faded Chinese export narrative tale coromandel screen with four lacquered panels. The scene is from the 18th century novel by Cao Xuegin. The screen depicts beauties in the grand vie...

Three Friends of Winter Nakajima Raisho (1796-1871) Late Edo period, circa 1850 Ink and gold leaf on paper. This is a double-sided Japanese Furosaki or tea-ceremony screen from the mid 19th century; bamboo and plum on the front, young pines the back. It by Nakajima Raisho, a master painter of the Maruyama school in the late Edo and early Meiji periods. In this work Raisho combines exquisite ink brushwork with large open spaces of brilliant gold-leaf to inspire the viewers imagination. Rather than naturalism, he is searching for the phycological impression of the motifs, resulting in abstraction and stylization. His simplification of the motifs the result of looking to capture the inner nature of the objects. This art motif is known as Sho Chiku Bai, or the Three Friends of Winter. Evergreen pine connotes steadfastness, bamboo suggests both strength and flexibility, while plum blossoms unfurling on snow-laden branches imply hardiness. Combined, this trio is emblematic of Japanese new year. Chinese literati were the first to group the three plants together due to their noble characteristics. Like these resilient plants flowering so beautifully in winter, it was expected of the scholar-gentleman to cultivate a strong character with which he would be able to show the same degree of perseverance and steadfastness even during times of adverse conditions. The screen would have been placed near the hearth of a room used for the Japanese tea ceremony, shielding the fire from draughts and also forming a stimulating and decorative backdrop behind the tea utensils. It would have been used in the Hatsugama, or first tea-ceremony of the new year. Nakajima Raisho (1796-1871) originally studied under Watanabe Nangaku before entering the school of Maruyama Ozui. He was the highest ranking Maruyama school painter at the end of the Edo period and was known as one of the ‘Four Heian Families’ along with Kishi...

Japanese Six Panel Screen: Winter Scene of Pine, Plum, and Bamboo Under Crescent Moon. Pine, plum and bamboo are known as the three friends of winter, because they all thrive and bl...

Hawks on plum and pine Soga Nichokuan (active circa 1625-1660) Pair of six-fold screens. Ink, mineral pigments, gofun, gold and speckled gold l...

Signature reads: Tsunenobu hitsu (after Kano Tsunenobu), Kano School painting in mineral pigments on paper with a silk brocade border.

designed as a nod to the beauty of japanese zen gardens, this artfully designed movable screen is visually pure in its composition, yet intricate at the same time. crafted in solid a...

Material: Paper on wooden frame One piece: W610×H1710mm×D17mm, Unfolded size: W3690mm Folded size: W625×H1710×D105mm, 13kg Estimate packing size: (sandwiched with 5-10mm plywood): 18...

Meiji period (1868-1912) ink painting of plum branches in bloom against a full moon with calligraphy. The calligraphy is a poem about winter. Signature reads: Matsuura Ryosai, Dated:...

Artist signature reads: Tsunetoki hitsu Mineral pigments on gold leaf.