Early 19th Century Japanese Screen. Cherry Blossom & Pheasants by Mori Tetsuzan

A two-fold Japanese screen by the Rimpa school artist Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828), Japan, 19th century, Edo period. This small Japanese folding screen pai...

Chinese Pheasants Yoshizawa Setsuan (1809-1889) Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk. Painting inscription: Setsuan Houyou Upper seal: Y...

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...

Birds & Flowers of the seasons Pheasants & Plum in Snow Unframed painting. Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature...

A Japanese mounted vertical hanging scroll painting by Mori Tetsuzan (Japanese, 1775-1841) circa 19th century Edo period. The watercolor and ink on silk ...

With a banana leaf palm on the left, at water's edge with geese. Perhaps a scene from the southern islands. Mineral pigments on mulberry paper with gold leaf and a silk brocade border.

Late Edo period 19th century Japanese six-panel landscape screen featuring a cypress tree over a flowering hibiscus with a pair of hototogisu birds. Kano school painted with ink and ...

Dramatic and beautifully executed cherry blossoms trickle down the two panels with natural willows calmly coexisting with luminous gold dust fading to the ground. Mineral pigments an...