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Four Old Japanese and Chinese Ink Wash Painting Calligraphy Brushes, Rare Find

About the Item

Here's a rare find from a collector we recently visited in Japan. These four large-scale Japanese and Chinese calligraphy wooden ink wash painting brushes come from a an old artists collection. They are seldom found today having been extensively used and often discarded or lost through travels through time. Their goat hair bristle is among the best quality brushes to be found. These amazing old brushes measure up to a impressive 12 inches in length with the brush head / bristles alone measuring to 3 inches. They date to the 1930s and were well loved and used- genuine treasures from an artistic past. They boast a warm patina from careful use and one still retains its calligraphic description on handle. Dimensions: largest is 12.5 inches length and 1 inches width. Unique offering. Only one group. A quality rarely seen or offered. Lifetime guarantee of authenticity: All of our Asian works of art come with our lifetime authenticity guarantee. About ink wash painting Ink wash painting, also known as literati painting, is an East Asian type of brush painting of Chinese origin that uses black ink—the same as used in East Asian calligraphy in various concentrations. For centuries, this form of Chinese art was practiced by highly educated scholar gentlemen or literati. Ink wash painting uses tonality and shading achieved by varying the ink density, both by differential grinding of the ink stick in water and by varying the ink load and pressure within a single brushstroke. Ink wash painting artists spend years practicing basic brush strokes to refine their brush movement and ink flow. In the hand of a master, a single stroke can produce astonishing variations in tonality, from deep black to silvery gray. Thus, in its original context, shading means more than just dark-light arrangement: It is the basis for the beautiful nuance in tonality found in East Asian ink wash painting and brush-and-ink calligraphy. Ink wash painting brushes are traditionally made from bamboo with goat, cattle, horse, sheep, rabbit, marten, badger, deer, boar and wolf hair. The brush hairs are tapered to a fine point, a feature vital to the style of wash paintings. (thank you wikipedia).
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 1 in (2.54 cm)Width: 12.25 in (31.12 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Style:
    Showa (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1930s
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    South Burlington, VT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1289240440672

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