Meiji Era, Circa 1900 Japanese Screen Pair, Flowers & Birds of Spring & Autumn

Heron & Plovers Ink and silver leaf on paper Maekawa Bunrei (1837-1917) A pair of low six-panel Japanese screens by Maekawa Bunrei, a later master of the Kyoto based Shijo school of painting. On the right screen a solitary white heron stands motionless in a stream. On the left screen plovers play along a shoreline. The elegant forms are executed employing fluid, minimalistic ink brushstrokes. The soft brushstrokes and the sharp light of the silver leaf lend the scenes a sense of translucence. The sophisticated composition superbly exploits the long, horizontal pictorial surface of the pair of folding screens...

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...

Flowers of the four seasons Isoi Joshin (1883-1964) Pair of six-panel Japanese screens Ink, pigment, lacquer and silver leaf on pa...

Pines and Cranes Anonymous. Kyoto Kano School. Late 17th/early 18th centuries, circa 1700. Pair of six-panel Japanese folding screens. Ink, gofun, pigment and gold leaf on paper. This bold composition presents two pine trees extending to the left and right across a gold leaf background. One tree is silhouetted against a green ground, golden clouds obscuring its true size, the other stretches across a stylized waterway. The pines are paired with Manchurian cranes with red crests and snow white plumage. Both have been highly auspicious motifs in East Asia since Chinese antiquity. Here the artist utilized fluid and instinctive ink brushstrokes to define the trunk, branches and tail feathers, in strong contrast to the precision and sharp angularity of the crane’s legs and beaks. The adoption of this vast metallic painting support required an unerring sense of design and composition, so that the negative space surrounding motifs could imply context for the otherwise floating pictorial elements. The brushwork detailing the trunks of the pines, the exaggerated dimensions of the pine trees and the strength and dynamism of the composition are all reminiscent of Kano Eitoku...

A vibrant celebration of spring using a colorful ensemble of coxcomb, irises, lilies, hybiscus, and a blossoming cherry tree. Great examples of "tarashikomi" or "painting-in", a Rim...

Although western painting was initially embraced during Japan’s Meiji period (1868-1912), artists brought on a revival of traditional painting styles as they sought to create a modern Japanese style with roots in the past. This exquisite hanging scroll demonstrates the preference for soft layering of gray tones with judicious use of color. The landscape is rendered in soft ink washes that subtly distinguish between water, mountain, and sky. The scroll painting...

Fantastic Japanese late Meiji period two-panel byobu screen by Hashimoto Koshu. The large screen features two white geese amid brightly colored reeds. The symbolism of geese and reeds was introduced to Japan from China in the 13th century. This was a popular subject for Japanese zen artists of the period. Beautifully crafted with exceptional brush strokes and details. Made with natural pigments in dramatic vivid colors of white, pink, and mint green on a silk background of gilt. Circa 1900 with artist seal on bottom right corner. Koshu studied Western art under...

Mineral pigments on gold leaf.