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Edo Paintings and Screens

EDO STYLE

Edo furniture was created during a flourishing time for the decorative arts owing to the stability of the Tokugawa shogunate rule in Japan. Spanning from 1603 to 1867, this era of peace and economic growth supported artistic advancements in lacquer, woodblock printing, porcelain and other artisanal trades. Because the country was largely isolated, there was little outside influence, leading to centuries of exceptional attention to the design of its furnishings and the quality of its traditional arts.

Unlike during the Meiji period that followed, with an increase in domestic and international markets, furniture during the Edo period was predominately commissioned by the ruling class, although people from across social groups benefited from the burgeoning metropolitan hubs for artisanal trades. For instance, Kyoto became a major center for lacquer art. Most furniture pieces were made from wood such as cedar or ash, including the era’s sashimono cabinets, which involved fine joinery and were rooted in the Heian period.

Sashimono cabinets, which were built by master craftsmen in a range of different wood types owing to the various trees that populate Japan, occasionally featured a stack of slender drawers as well as sliding doors. They were popular with everyone from samurai to kabuki actors. Tansu storage chests crafted from wood with metal fittings were also common in Edo-period homes. Some were designed to be easily portable while others were made to double as staircases.

Painted folding screens, called byōbu, were also fashionable, with Japanese artists inspired by nature, literature and scenes of history and daily life to create vivid works. In Buddhist temples and the palatial homes of the aristocratic class, fusuma, or large sliding panels, would sometimes be adorned with gold or silver leaf. These dividers allowed interiors to change throughout the day, closing in small spaces for personal use or reflecting candlelight to illuminate communal spaces after dark.

Find a collection of Edo tables, lighting, decorative objects, wall decorations and more furniture on 1stDibs.

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Style: Edo
19th Century Japanese Screen, Deer in Spring, Maruyama Shijo School
Located in Kyoto, JP
A six-panel Japanese folding screen from the leading Maruyama-Shijo artist Okamoto Toyohiko (1773-1845). Simply featuring three deer and a few sprigs of foliage on a sumptuous gold-leaf background this work emphasizes naturalistic expression and a masterful use of negative space. Reduced to its most basic elements, the blank spaces inspire imagination and evoke the smells, sounds and even the weather of the scene. Whilst deer are traditionally depicted in association with autumn, here the green growth on the tops of the foliage indicates the season of spring. The work references Maruyama Okyo’s two-panel deer screen...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Pair of Japanese Edo Six Panel Screens Attributed Kano Toshun
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Intriguing pair of 18th century Japanese Edo period six-panel screens of the four accomplishments attributed to Kano Toshun (1747-1797). The colorful Kano school screens are each sig...
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18th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk, Wood, Paper

Japanese Edo Six Panel Screen Merrymaking in the Chinese Countryside
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Large 19th century Japanese Edo period six panel folding byobu screen made in the Kano school style. Beautifully crafted with signature after Kano Tan'yu. Ink and natural color pigme...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japan Antique Tea Master Ceremony Guide Double Scroll Matsudara Fumai 1751-1818
Located in South Burlington, VT
From our most recent Japanese acquisitions Rare Hand-Painted Double Tea Master Scroll (2) entitled: Tea Ceremony Rules of Matsudaira Fumai (1751-1818) Includes a later wooden col...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

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Paper

Japanese antique sketch scroll / 1800-1900 / Flower, bird and animal paintings
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is a rough sketch of a Japanese painting drawn around the late Edo period to the early Meiji period (1800-1900) in Japan. A picture is drawn by sticking and connecting short pi...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

Japanese Asian Six-Panel Folding Byobu Screen Landcape Bridge with Iris Flowers
Located in Studio City, CA
A gorgeous six-panel Japanese Byobu folding screen depicting a nature lake/landscape scene with a water walkway/angular bridge and blossoming iris flowers - perhaps an homage to the famed Irises screens...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Edo Six Panel Table Screen After Maruyama Okyo
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Fantastic diminutive Japanese Edo period table top screen depicting a lively water landscape with flora and fauna. The screen is beautifully painted o...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Brass, Gold Leaf

Set of 6 Large Kakemonos Japanese Mythology, 19th Century Japan circa 1800 Edo
Located in Beuzevillette, FR
Beautiful set of 6 large kakemonos from 19th century Japanese mythology. Paper support with a canvas pasted on the paper Wonderful set that is part of Japan's history and beliefs When not hung, the Kakemonos are rolled up. circa 1800 - Japan - Edo Period A kakemono translates as "object to hang". In Japan this refers to a painting or calligraphy, most often done on silk or paper framed in a scroll that was intended to be hung on walls or in public lighting. This particular form, which allows them to be in a roll, dates back to the Tang dynasty in China (this would be related to the copying and preservation of ancient Buddhist texts). A Kami is a deity or spirit worshipped in the Shinto religion. A Yokai is a spirit, ghost, demon, or strange apparition from the creatures of Japanese folklore. Each of these kakemonos represents a unique story: - A kami, a Japanese deity, is shown painting a rainbow. Indeed, he performs the action with his right hand while his left hand holds a kind of basket with three pots of paint. This kami has a rather closed attitude. He is standing in a dark and tormented sky. Below this figure, 8 villagers are dressed in traditional Japanese clothes. Their faces are softened. They are not afraid of the elements made by the kami above their heads. - A character with an unreal look is holding a kind of jar with his two hands, which he spills on human figures above. This being is floating in the air, probably a character from mythology, perhaps Susanoo. Underneath, villagers on umbrellas. They are trying to protect themselves as best they can from what is falling on them. One of them is carrying baskets with fish on her shoulders. A character in the background is thrown forward and falls. - On this kakemono, the god Raijin, dressed in a white and blue outfit, strikes the sky with his two drum hammers to create lightning and its thunderous sound. Surrounded by Tomoe and a long red scarf, Raijin, enraged and with dishevelled hair, creates a dark and violent storm. The villagers seem frightened by this meteorological phenomenon. One of the villagers can be seen fainting in the arms of a man. This scene may seem chaotic, but Japanese legend tells us that once a field is struck by lightning, the harvest is good. - On this kakemono, we see an unreal-looking figure holding a fan, as if he were sweeping away the bad weather, or simply producing gusts of wind. He is probably the kami of wind and air, Shina tsu-hiko. The figures below him seem surprised by so much wind. An umbrella flies away on the left, the women hold their hair and scarf, the clothes are caught in the power of the wind, there is even a woman on the ground on the bottom left. - This Kakemono represents a short moment. This Raiju is a yokai (ghost spirit...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

Japanese Silk Scroll by Haruki Nanmei Edo Period
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Japanese hanging silk scroll by late Edo period painter Haruki Nanmei (1795-1878). The gouache painting was in the tradition of Kano school and depicts an old scholar dressed in lo...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk, Paper

Mid-18th Century Japanese Screen Pair, One Hundred Flowers, Chrysanthemums
Located in Kyoto, JP
Omori Soun (b. 1704) Chrysanthemums - One Hundred Flowers A Pair of Six-fold Japanese Screens. Ink, color, gofun and gold leaf on paper. Dating ...
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Mid-18th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Fine Antique Gilt Lotus Bud Flower, Edo Period 19th Century
Located in South Burlington, VT
From our recent Japanese acquisitions, a rare find, stem #3 Antique Original Japanese temple "blossominig lotus" flower bud stem. This finely hand carved wood and lacquered gold flower stem was made for a Buddhist 19th century temple altar...
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1840s Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Wood

Japanese Chinese Asian Large Six-Panel Folding Byobu Screen Mythical Lanscape
Located in Studio City, CA
A gorgeous, strangely beautiful, unusually engaging, and alluring hand-painted large six-panel Japanese/Asian Byobu folding screen depicting an almost magical/ mythical nature scene ...
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18th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

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Gold Leaf

Japanese Painting, Hanging Scroll, 19th Century Bamboo in Moonlight
Located in Kyoto, JP
Bamboo in moonlight Gamo Rakan (1784-1866) Hanging scroll, ink on silk. Dimensions: Scroll: 201 cm x 58 cm Image: 137 cm x 45 cm In this early 19th century work by Gamo Rakan a light ink wash applied to the silk background silhouettes the moon and suggests the atmosphere of early evening. Even though it is a literati subject, Rakan’s bamboo is quite realistic with a strong decorative style. The painting finds its inspiration from Chinese Ming dynasty painters who often used a single-tone, jet black stroke to emphasize the calligraphic nature of bamboo. In a different era, decorative would have been seen as somewhat unrefined. But increasingly in the Edo period, it was the hallmark of high style. The Japanese people, in particular the rising merchant class, had gradually become apathetic toward the traditional Sesshu and Kano schools of painting. Chinese professional and amateur painters living in the port of Nagasaki during the 18th century had a profound effect on Japanese painting and the freshness of their style and its decorative appeal contributed greatly to its popularity. Gamo Rakan’s teacher, Tani Buncho...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk

Edo Landscape Japanese Folding Screen
Located in Brescia, IT
Refined work by a painter from the first half of the 19th century, from the landscape of the "Rinpa" school by a painter from the end of the 18th century, the Rinpa school. Six panels painted in ink on gold leaf and "gofun" on vegetable paper. The flowers are made with the "gofun" technique, natural or pigmented white oyster powder. Rinpa is one of the major historical schools of Japanese painting. The style was consolidated by the brothers Ogata Korin (1658–1716) and Ogata Kenzan (1663–1743). This folding screen has a very clean design that leaves plenty of room for the beautiful golden landscape. It comes flat and you can easily hang it with our hooks. Lucio Morini...
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18th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Silk Scroll Painting by Matsumura Keibun, 18th Century
By Matsumura Keibun
Located in New York, NY
A silk parchment scroll with a Camellia Flower painting, by Japanese artist Matsumura Keibun (1779-1843). The younger half-brother to Matsumura Goshun, founder of the Shijo schoo...
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1790s Asian Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk, Parchment Paper

Japanese Silk Suijaku Scroll Nyorai-Kojin with Mixed Buddhism and Shinto Deities
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Japanese silk Suijaku hanging scroll beautifully presented in a custom wood shadow box frame from Edo period (circa 18-19th century). The scroll, surmounted on golden brocade was painted in fine details with gouache, ink and gold powder highlight, served as a Suijaku mandala for the worshippers. Honji Suijaku is a complicated religious concept uniquely developed in Japan. It mixed and hybrid the Buddism deities with native shinto spirits (known as Kami), which were seen as local manifestations (the suijaku, literally means a "trace") of Buddhist deities (the honji literally the original ground). The original idea may lie with the synergetic strategy to spread Buddism by making it more relatable to the local population who had already worshiped Shinto gods. The paradigm, adopted in the 10th century from an orignal Chinese concept, remained a defining feature of Japanese religious life up to the end of the Edo period (1868). Instead of being confined to deities, its application was often extended to historical figures as shown on this scroll. This long hanging scroll depicts an arrangement of 21 figures including Buddhism and Shinto deities as well as two historical figures on the bottom. Each figure was name-tagged in Kanji for easy identification by the worshippers. It was used in the temple or shrine so that when the worshipper prayed in front the mandala, they prayed simultaneously to all the deities. On the very top, sits Nyorai-Kojin, a hybrid deity of Nyorai Buddha and Kojin, the kaki for fire, stove and kitchen. From the top to bottom and left to right, here is the list of the deities: Kanon with Thousand Hands, Kanon with Willow Branch, Monju Bosatsu...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

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Silk, Wood

Early Japanese Gohonzon Buddhist Calligraphy Mandala Scroll Edo Period
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Japanese sumi ink calligraphy Buddhist mandala mounted as a paper hanging scroll known as Kakejiku or sometimes Moji mandala. Termed as gohonzon in Japanese, it is a venerated object within Nichiren Buddhism (Hokkeshu; lotus sect). The originally concept was developed by the 13th century Buddhist priest Nichiren to guide the energy of the devotional chanting to...
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1810s Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

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Paper

Japanese Silk Scroll of Daruma Hanabusa Itcho Edo Period
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Japanese hanging scroll attributed to Edo period painter Hanabusa Itcho (1652-1724). The artwork features a silk roundel nicely mounted in golden brocade background. The painting depicts a robed Daruma seated in meditation with his eyes widely open. The rendition of the famous monk, one of the most beloved subjects in Japanese art, was extremely minimalistic. With just a few effective ink strokes and patches of watercolor, it managed to successfully highlight the essence and spirit of Daruma. The roundel was possibly a center fragment of a larger painting by the artist and was remounted historically. Signed with one of his artist's names. It comes with a wood scroll box with ink inscription of title and artist formal name. For a painting with the same signature, see number 1881,1210,0.1719 in the collection of the British Musuem. Also a horizontal scroll...
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18th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk, Paper

Japanese Miniature Four-Panel Screen Blue and Green Landscape
Located in Rio Vista, CA
19th century mid-Edo period Japanese four-panel miniature screen. Depicting a beautifully painted Chinese blue and green landscape in the Nanga School...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Brass

19th Century Japanese Silk Painting by Kano Chikanobu, Phoenix & Paulownia
Located in Kyoto, JP
Birds & Flowers of the seasons Pheasants & Plum in Snow Unframed painting. Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature...
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Mid-19th Century Asian Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk

17th Century Japanese Screen. Ink Plum Tree & Birds by Kano Naonobu.
Located in Kyoto, JP
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...
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17th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Wood, Paper

Antique hanging scroll of Japanese cat/Late Edo-Meiji period/Cat painting
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is a picture of a cat drawn by a person named "Toshizumi Nitta" from the end of the Edo period to the beginning of the Meiji period. She is a very simple and cute cat. He is a vassal of the Tokugawa Shogunate, born in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture (southern part of Gunma Prefecture). He was related to the Tokugawa family and lived in a large mansion in the Ota clan in Gunma prefecture. However, the Nitta family's territory was very small, and they were by no means a wealthy vassal. He seems to have lived quite poorly. So he painted cats and sold them to people. The Nitta family continued to draw pictures of this cat for four generations. "Nitta toshizumi" is equivalent to the fourth generation. During the Edo period, sericulture was thriving in the Kanto region. Cats were said to be the gods of silkworms, as they drive away mice, the natural enemies of silkworms. It was the Nitta family who drew such a cat on paper, pasted it in the silkworm chamber, and sold it as a mouse repellent. There were also other monks who painted pictures of cats, but the Nitta family in particular was related to the Tokugawa family, so people believed that paintings of cats had special powers. , a lot of paintings...
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Late 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

Japanese Edo Period Six Panel Screen of Chinese Scholars
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Fascinating 19th century Japanese late Edo period six pane funpon screen. Large scale depicting Chinese scholars and officials engaged in leis...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Wood, Paper, Silk

19th Century Japanese Screen for Tea-Ceremony, Ink Bamboo and Plum on Gold Leaf
Located in Kyoto, JP
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...
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Mid-19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Early 19th Century Japanese Screen. Cherry Blossom & Pheasants by Mori Tetsuzan
Located in Kyoto, JP
Mori Tetsuzan (1775-1841) Pheasants and Cherry Blossoms Two-fold Japanese screen. Ink, color, gofun, gold and silver on paper. A two-fold Japanese bir...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

17th Century Japanese Screen Pair. Tiger & Dragon by Kaiho Yusetsu
Located in Kyoto, JP
Kaiho Yusetsu (1598-1677) Tiger and Dragon Early Edo Period, Circa 1650 A Pair of Six-fold Japanese Screens. Ink and slight color on paper. Dimensions: Each screen: H. 171 cm x W. 380 cm (67.5’’ x 149.5’’) In this pair of early Edo period Japanese screens a group of tigers prowl in a bamboo grove whipped with fierce wind, while a dragon claws through clouds and mist. The dragon embodies elemental qualities - looming out of the mist, the coils of its body disappearing in the clouds. The dragon is calling for rain, symbolizing spring which is considered the fountain of life. On the other side, the tigers calls for the wind, symbolizing autumn which is considered the end of life. Tigers were familiar motifs within Japanese art from ancient times though the animals were imaginary to the people in the 17th century. While dragons and tigers are usually associated as sacred and ferocious, in this painting, both animals have rather amusing expressions. The tigers appear to glare at the dragon with cat-like eyes, and the look on the swirling dragon’s face appears almost affectionate - lending a playful flair to an otherwise magnificent theme. The tiger and dragon are cosmological symbols of the balancing forces in the world. Screens such as this were originally meant to express the fluctuating nature of the world. For Japanese in the early Edo period, they likely suggested the powers of the cosmos. In Japan the tiger and dragon motif was originally absorbed into the circles of Zen monasteries before spreading into the secular world. The theme especially appealed to the military classes with the Kano school, the official painters to the Shogun and the samurai, being the leading contributors. The painter of this pair of screens, Kaiho Yusetsu (1598-1677), was closely patronized by the third Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. In his later years he worked with Kano school artists...
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Mid-17th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk, Wood, Paper

19th Century Japanese Scroll Painting, Birds & Flowers of the Four Seasons
Located in Kyoto, JP
Birds and flowers of the four seasons Early to mid-19th century Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Unidentified artist Signature: S...
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1830s Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk

17th Century Japanese Screen Pair, Cranes
Located in Kyoto, JP
Cranes Anonymous, Kano School. Edo period, second half of the 17th century. Pair of six-panel screens. Ink, pigment gofun and gold l...
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1670s Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

19th Century Japanese Scroll Painting by Igarashi Chikusa, Poppies & Butterflies
Located in Kyoto, JP
Poppies & Butterflies Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Igarashi Chikusa (1774-1844) Signature: Chikusa Ran Zen Upper Seal: Ran Shuzen Lower Seal: Kyoho Dimensions: Scroll: H. 68” x W. 18” (172cm x 45cm) Image: H. 38.5’’ x W. 12.5’’ (98cm x 32cm) This composition shows elegant images of poppies and the butterflies that are inevitably drawn to them. It captures a momentary glimpse into a world both visually dazzling and startlingly realistic. The painting is infused with sensitivity and attention to seasonal change and weather conditions. The thin and fragile poppies are beautifully depicted with brilliant colors and the butterflies are similarly infused with life. The painting is on silk which requires extremely precise painting skills as no element once painted can be removed. Poppies were a favorite subject of Rinpa school artists through the ages. Originally they were somewhat abstracted but by the age of Sakai Hoitsu...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk

Lovely Nihonga Scene Edo Period Scroll Japan Artist Yusen Okajima Japan
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
It is a work drawn by Yusen Okajima known as a Japanese painter of the Shijo school as you can see. It is a waterfall map that makes you feel momentum from the top to the bottom, a...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk

17th Century Japanese Framed Panel by Kano Sansetsu, White Herons in Snow
Located in Kyoto, JP
Kano Sansetsu (1589-1651) White herons in snow Edo period, circa 1640 Framed painting. Ink on paper. Kano Sansetsu is a Japanese painter who ...
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17th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

19th Century Japanese Silk Painting by Kano Chikanobu, Pheasants & Plum in Snow
Located in Kyoto, JP
Birds & Flowers of the Seasons Pheasants & Plum in Snow Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature: Chikanobu Seal: Shateki Offered here is an unframed ‘kacho-e’ painting by the 19th century Japanese Takamatsu domain painter Kano Chikanobu. There are 8 individual paintings available, which originally would have been part of a set of 12. ‘Kacho-e’ literally means ‘pictures of birds and flowers’. In reality it covers a wide range of natural motifs including birds, fish, insects and small animals in combination with flowers, grasses or trees. The theme has a long history in Japanese painting. It is one of three painting genres, the other two being landscape and figure, which derive from Chinese academic painting classification. As one of the accepted types of painting to be shown in official residences, scenes of birds, flowers and animals were rife with metaphorical reference as well as physical beauty. In these paintings Chikanobu has made conspicuous use of brilliant pigments and meticulous brushwork. The rocks, water, trees, blossoms, and birds are treated as stylized formal elements in a grand design. All of the components contribute to the patterned effect and tactile richness of the surface. Beyond their highly decorative qualities, the subject of some of the paintings are also an allusion to imperial allegiance; the pheasants are symbolic of bravery and steadfastness, peacocks represent divinity and power, and the phoenix paired with paulownia a just and benevolent ruler. Cranes and turtles symbolize longevity, and the lush, full bloom of the peony flower represents wealth and opulence. Paintings of native Japanese birds and flowers were appreciated primarily for their evocation of the seasons and the traditional poetic emotions associated with them. This is the case with the spring scene of cherry blossoms and birds and the winter scene of narcissus, nandina and sparrows. The rich expression of flower and bird paintings...
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Mid-19th Century Asian Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk

Important Japanese six-fold screen depicting The Tale of The Genji, 17th century
Located in Amsterdam, NL
An important Japanese six-fold screen, depicting episodes from The Tale of The Genji Edo period, 17th century Ink and colour on gilded paper, H. 155 x W. 380 cm The Tale of Genji...
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17th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paint, Paper

19th Century Japanese Silk Painting by Kano Chikanobu, Crane, Pine & Camelia
Located in Kyoto, JP
Birds & Flowers of the Seasons Pheasants & Plum in Snow Unframed painting. Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature...
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Mid-19th Century Asian Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk

Japanese Six-Panel Screen Byobu With Chrysanthemums And Autumn Grass and Flower
Located in Torino, IT
The 19th Century Six-Panel Japanese folding screen "Byōbu" usually used in the most important Japanese house to stop wind and also to separate different space of the same big room de...
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Mid-19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Painting Depicting Commodore Perry’s Ship with Buddhist Monks Aboard
Located in Amsterdam, NL
A Japanese painting depicting Commodore Matthew Perry’s flagship USS Mississippi bringing the coffin with the remains of US marine private Robert Williams who died while serving on t...
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Mid-19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paint, Paper

19th Century Japanese Edo Six Panel Kano School Landscape Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
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 ...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk, Wood, Paper

Unpei Kameyama, 'a View of Black 'American' Ships in the Bay of Uraga Senminato'
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Unpei Kameyama (1821-1899) A view of black (American) ships in the bay of Uraga Senminato, Miura district, June 1853 The Japanese text reads: ‘The seventy-six old men for the Kitamura-clan, drawn in 1897 on request of Yoshisada Kitamura, Himeji, the black ships which so much changed the fate of Japan, enjoy please this masterpiece by Harima Shonin Bisei who brings back memories of his young days.’ Watercolour on paper, laid down on cardboard, H. 44.5 x W. 115.5 cm Provenance: Collection of Yoshisada Kitamura, Himeji Yoshisada Kitamura (1838-1899), the son of a farmer in the village of Ogawa, in the district of Harimakashikihigashi, studied under Matajiro Otaka and got heavily involved in the anti-Shogunate movement. He was active in several military incidents against the Shogunate. After the Meiji restoration, he served the Meiji government as a local official in the Himeji domain. Kameyama Unpei was a Confucian scholar, a Shinto priest...
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Mid-19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

Lovely Pair Nihonga Scene Edo Period Scroll Japan Artist Matsumura Keibun Japan
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Early summer rice planting and poultry drawing drawn by Keibun Matsumura As you can see, there are two folding screens. It is an interesting work that shows the bird's figure flyin...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk

Japanese Screen Pair, Tigers by Kishi Renzan, Late Edo Period
Located in Kyoto, JP
Kishi Renzan (1804-1859) Tigers Pair of six-panel Japanese screens. Ink and gold-leaf on paper. In this monochromatic pair of six-fold Japanese screens painted on gold-leaf, Kishi Renzan has created a breathtaking composition of a family of tigers. The screens are filled with a sense of drama which is conveyed by both the subject matter and the wet, expressive brushwork. The running mountain stream and the towering waterfall allude to refreshment during the summer months and we feel the tiger families familiarity and security within their environment. Renzan’s master, Kishi Ganku...
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Mid-19th Century Asian Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Asian Large Edo Six-Panel Folding Byobu Screen Landscape Monkeys Trees
Located in Studio City, CA
An absolutely gorgeous, wonderfully composed six-panel Japanese Byobu folding screen/room divider depicting a family of playful monkeys among the blooming trees and mountainous lands...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Painting, 17th Century, Tale of Genji, Tosa School
Located in Kyoto, JP
Illustration to an unidentified chapter of the Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) Tosa School (second half of the 17th Century) Ink, pigment, gofun and...
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Late 17th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Edo Six Panel Screen Yoshitsune and Benkei
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Spectacular 19th century Japanese late Edo period six-panel byobu screen depicting Yoshitsune and Benkei, two heroes of Japanese folklore. Crafted in ink and natural color pigments on mulberry paper with thick gold leaf borders on each panel. The character Yoshitsune is seated under a blossoming cherry tree in full armor holding a fan. The warrior priest or monk Benkei is depicted kneeling on a leopard skin...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Brass, Gold Leaf

Japanese Edo Two-Panel Screen Flowers of Autumn
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Impressive early 19th century Japanese Edo period two-panel screen featuring flowering plants and grasses of autumn. Painted in the Tosa School style Bunka Bunsei period or Ogosho pe...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

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Silk, Wood, Paper

Six-Panel Japanese Screen on Spring Gold Leaf
Located in Brescia, IT
Spring landscape by an unknown painter of the Rinpa school, 19th century, six-panel ink painted on gold leaf on rice paper. The flowers are made with the "gofun" technique, natural or pigmented white oyster powder. Rinpa (? ?, Rinpa) is one of the major historical schools of Japanese painting. the style was consolidated by the brothers Ogata Korin (1658–1716) and Ogata Kenzan...
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Late 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Screen Painting, circa 1700 'Horses' by Kano Tanshin
Located in Kyoto, JP
Horses Kano Tanshin Morimasa (1653-1718) Two-panel tea-ceremony Japanese screen or furosaki Ink on gold leaf, late 17th-early 18th century Measures: H 55 cm x W 182 cm The Kano school was closely aligned with the warrior class in Japan. The samurai, who lived in a closed and rigid hierarchical society established by the Shogunate, were drawn to the energy and freedom horses symbolize; Kano school artists commonly depicted the equine creatures as they are here, in unfettered and carefree family groups. China originally introduced horse paintings to Japan; the works typically focused on capturing the essence of horses in their various environments and often involved integrating human figures into the images. Kano Tanshin Morimasa (1653-1718) was the son of Kano Tanyu...
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1690s Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

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Gold Leaf

Japanese Antique Ink Painting / 19th Century / Rare Chinese Character Painting
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
We have a unique Japanese aesthetic sense. And only we can introduce unique items through our purchasing channels in Japan and the experience we have gained so far, in such a way that no one else can imitate. It is an ink painting written after the Meiji era. The biggest attraction of this work is that it uses Chinese characters to create paintings. To explain in detail, it is written here in Chinese characters as "un-ryu" . "Un" is a cloud and "ryu" is a dragon. These are embodied and drawn by comparing them to the meaning of Chinese characters. And the clouds depict the clouds hanging over the mountain, and the dragon depicts the climbing toward the mountain. Humorous paintings...
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Late 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Acrylic, Paper

Japanese Edo Two Panel Screen Deities by Yokoyama Kazan
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Whimsical Japanese late Edo period two-panel screen circa 1800 by Yokoyama Kazan (Japanese 1784-1837). The screen depicts four of the seven Gods or deities ...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Brass, Gold Leaf

Pair of Japanese Edo Six Panel Screens the Seven Sages
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Fantastic pair of 19th century Japanese late Edo/early Meiji period six-panel screens titled The seven sages of the bamboo grove. The Kano school screens...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Brass, Gold Leaf

19th Century Japanese Silk Painting by Kano Chikanobu, Peacock & Bamboo
Located in Kyoto, JP
Birds & Flowers of the Seasons Pheasants & Plum in Snow Unframed painting. Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature...
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Mid-19th Century Asian Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk

18th Century Japanese Floral Paintings, Set of 5, Mineral Pigments on Gold Leaf
Located in Kyoto, JP
A set of 5 Japanese floral paintings from the 18th century. Each painted with mineral pigments directly applied to gold leaf. They were originally designed to be mounted on the leave...
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Mid-18th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Six Panel Screen Spring into Summer
Located in Hudson, NY
Mid-Edo period, 18th century painting with gold leaf and mineral pigments. A summer landscape depicting summer flowers and exotic birds, accented with an abstract cloud design. Miner...
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18th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Screen Painting, Early 19th Century, Autumn Flowers by Sakai Hoitsu
Located in Kyoto, JP
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...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Wood, Silk

Japanese Two Panel Screen Manchurian Crane and Turtles
Located in Hudson, NY
In Japan, cranes symbolize fidelity as they mate for life and turtles symbolize longevity. Additionally, this screen also has the Japanese motif of sho-chiku-bai, or the three friends of winter (pine, plum, and bamboo). So called the three friends of winter because all three flourish during the cold months. This screen was originally fusuma doors...
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Mid-19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

17th Century Japanese Screen Pair by Soga Nichokuan, Hawks on Pine & Plum Trees
Located in Kyoto, JP
Hawks on plum and pine Soga Nichokuan (active circa 1625-1660) Pair of six-fold screens. Ink, mineral pigments, gofun, gold and speckled gold leaf on paper. Upper seal: H...
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1640s Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Wood, Paper

Late 18th Century Japanese Framed Painting, God of Thunder by Yamaguchi Soken
Located in Kyoto, JP
Raijin - God of Thunder Yamaguchi Soken (1759-1818) Mid to Late Edo period, circa 1800. Framed painting. Ink and light color on paper. This humorous painting depicts the Thunder God, Raijin, tumbling from the sky, presumably being struck down by one of his own lighting bolts. He clings to one drumstick as the other is in free-fall along with his Taiko drums...
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Late 18th Century Asian Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

Japanese Edo Six-Panel Haboku Landscapes of Seasons
Located in Rio Vista, CA
19th century Japanese Edo period six-panel screen painted in Haboku (splashed ink) style. Depicts Four Seasons landscape scenes with two portraits of Chinese sages. One sage is trave...
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19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Circa 1700 Japanese Screen Pair, Cranes & Pines, Kyoto Kano School
Located in Kyoto, JP
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...
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Late 17th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings and Screens

Materials

Gold Leaf

Edo paintings and screens for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Edo paintings and screens for sale on 1stDibs. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for paintings and screens differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $375 and tops out at $475,500 while the average work can sell for $12,800.

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