Japanese Screen 'Ink Painting of Plum Blossom'

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

Meiji period (1868 - 1912) sumi-e (or ink painting) on paper of a venerable pine tree with limbs stretching out over a bluff. Beautiful signature and seal read: Biei. Ink on paper ...

Japanese two-panel screen: ink painting of Palm Trees on paper, Edo period (1787) beautiful painting of Japanese windmill palm trees. Ink paint...

With raised twig fence and poultry cages (used for chicken, pheasants, etc). Wood vine on the fence, and some seasonal flowers in bloom. Delicately painted with wonderful colors and ...

Japanese two panel screen: Painting of stallions. Kano school of painting. Mineral pigments on mulberry paper.

Edo period (dated 1787) beautiful painting of unfurling palm leaves with romping puppies in the background. Ink painting (sumi-e) on mulberry paper. Signature reads: Okyo. Calligraph...

Japanese ink on paper painting of Plum Blossoms and Poem, scroll mounting, signature & single seal: Tani Buncho (1763 - 1840). A famous and prol...

The red plum blossom and birds painting of this two-panel screen is hand-painted in watercolor, on squares of gold leaf which are applied by hand to the paper base over carefully joi...

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...

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...

Kano Sansetsu (1589-1651) Plum blossoms in snow Edo period, circa 1640 Framed painting. Ink on paper. Kano Sansetsu is a Japanese painter who...

A pair of screens by Imao Keinen featuring peacocks painted in ink on gold leaf. Lacquered wood frame, brocade border, incised copper hardware. Dimensions: H 175cm x W 352cm Biogr...