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Edo Paintings

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
Material: Gold Leaf
Pair of Japanese Edo Rimpa School Screens after Tawaraya Sotatsu
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Impressive pair of 17th century Japanese Edo period Rinpa school screens made in the manner and style of Autumn Grasses by Tawaraya Sotatsu (1570-1640). Beautifully decorated with wi...
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17th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

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

Materials

Gold Leaf

Pair of Japanese Edo Period Six-Panel Screen, "100 Boys at Play"
Located in Austin, TX
An absolutely charming pair of Japanese Tosa School six-panel folding screens painted with the "One Hundred Boys at Play" motif, featuring a multitude...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Folding Screen Six Panels Painted on Gold Leaf
Located in Brescia, IT
Paravento a sei pannelli di scuola giapponese Kano: paesaggio con bellissime ed eleganti gru vicino al fiume, con alberi di pino e sakura. Dipinto a mano con pigmenti minerali ed inc...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Six-Panel Screen Waterfall and Cherry in Audubon Landscape
Located in Hudson, NY
Japanese six-panel screen: waterfall and cherry in Audubon landscape, Edo period painting, 18th century, depicting summer and spring. A Kano Schoo...
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Mid-18th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

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

Materials

Gold Leaf

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

Materials

Gold Leaf

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

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Six-Panel Screen Garden Landscape by River's Edge
Located in Hudson, NY
Kano School painting showing ancient pine, exotic birds, peonies, azalea and cherry tree in bloom on far right. Early Edo period painting, (1614 -...
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Late 17th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

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

Materials

Gold Leaf

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

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

Materials

Brass, Gold Leaf

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

Materials

Gold Leaf

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

Materials

Gold Leaf

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

Materials

Brass, Gold Leaf

Japanese Six Panel Screen Battle of Uji Bridge
Located in Hudson, NY
The first battle at Uji was in 1180 and was the beginning of the Heike Wars. This screen depicts a famous scene from the Heike Wars. Two Heike generals, Sasaki Takatsuna and Kajiwa...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

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

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Six-Panel Edo Screen Willow with Flowers
Located in Rio Vista, CA
18th century Japanese Edo period six-panel screen featuring spring willow with camellia and peonies in a dramatic storm of silver and gold leaf flecks. Made in the Hasegawa school st...
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18th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Brass, Gold Leaf, Silver 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

Materials

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

Materials

Brass, Gold Leaf

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

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

Materials

Gold Leaf

Edo Period 19th Century Japanese Folding Screen Six Panels Flowers on Gold Leaf
Located in Brescia, IT
Clouds of gold, water and many colorful flowers: Japanese six-panel folding screen by Rimpa School. Hand painted with rice mineral pigments and inks on rice paper and gold leaf.
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Six Panel Screen: Rolling Country Landscape
Located in Hudson, NY
A mid-sized six panel screen. Edo period (c. 1800) painting of a landscape features a temple on the mountain top, a river with fishermen emerging from gold...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

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

Materials

Gold Leaf

19th Century Small Japanese Screen Pair, Pine Trees and Vines on Gold Leaf
Located in Kyoto, JP
This pair of screens depict just the middle sections of aged pine trees, painted in bold brush strokes on a background of gold leaf clouds. The trees are draped in vines, the lush cr...
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Mid-19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Six-Panel Screen Women of the Court in the Garden
Located in Hudson, NY
Japanese six-panel screen: Women of the Court in the Garden. Edo period (circa 1700) painting of an early Kano school subject matter: nobility socializing in a coutryard garden. Deta...
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Early 1700s Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Painting, 17th Century, Tale of Genji, Makibashira, Tosa School
Located in Kyoto, JP
The Handsome Pillar (Makibashira), Illustration to Chapter 31 of the Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) Tosa School (second half of the 17th Century) I...
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Late 17th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Screen Pair, circa 1730, Peacocks and Phoenix, Kano School
Located in Kyoto, JP
Phoenix and Peacocks. A pair of six-panel Japanese folding screens by Tsunetake Yotei (n.d.) First half of the 18th century. The signature reads 67 year old Tsunetake. The seals read: -Tsunetake no in, -Yotei, -Seishin Dimensions: Each screen – H. 69” x W. 149” (176 cm x 378 cm) A pair of Kano Grand Picture (Waga) screens depicting phoenix and peacocks rich with symbolic meaning. Dating to the first half of the 18th century, from the Kobikicho Kano school in Edo, this pair of folding...
Category

Early 18th Century Asian Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Painting, 17th Century, Tale of Genji, Fujibakama, Tosa School
Located in Kyoto, JP
Purple Trousers (Fujibakama), Illustration to Chapter 30 of the Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) Tosa School (second half of the 17th century) Ink, ...
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Late 17th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Screen Painting, Circa 1700 'Tales of Ise' by Tosa Mitsusuke
By Tosa Mitsusuke 1
Located in Kyoto, JP
A six-fold Japanese screen by Tosa Mitsusuke (1675-1710), Japan 17th-18th century, Edo period. The signature reads Shoroku-i ge Tosa sa Konoe Shogen Mit...
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Late 17th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Six-Panel Screen Late Winter into Early Spring
Located in Hudson, NY
Japanese six-panel screen: Late winter into early spring, Rimpa style painting of a garden scene with doves on a bamboo fence. Flowers in bloom including red camellia, plum tree, and...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Two-Panel Screen Peony and Cherry
Located in Hudson, NY
Japanese two-panel screen: Peony and Cherry, Edo period (circa 1800) painting, formerly fusuma (Japanese sliding doors), executed in the Kano school style, featuring a cherry tree in...
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Early 1800s Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

18th Century Japanese Two-Panel Screen Collection of Fans on Gold
Located in Hudson, NY
18th century Japanese Screen of a Collection of Fans. Paintings on fans depict famous Japanese painting subjects, this screen was most li...
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18th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Screen: Animals and Flowers in a Landscape with Rising Sun
Located in Hudson, NY
Edo period (c. 1800) screen, beautifully painted with excellent details. Kano School painting at its best. An exuberant Audobon landscape being observed by a cat and her kitten. A...
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Early 19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Late 17th-Early 18th Century Japanese Six-Panel Screen, Battle at Uji Bridge
Located in Hudson, NY
Japanese six-panel screen: Battle at Uji Bridge, the first battle at Uji was in 1180 and it marked the start of the Heike Wars. The Genji troops crossed the...
Category

Late 17th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Japanese Six Panel Screen, Snow Scene at Water’s Edge
Located in Hudson, NY
Japanese Six Panel Screen: Snow Scene at Water's Edge with Flowers and Waterfowl. Edo period painting (mid 19th century) of plum, bamboo, white camellias, cranes and mandarin ducks ...
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Mid-19th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Pair of Antique Japanese Paintings of Karashishi, Edo Period, 18th Century
Located in Prahran, Victoria
A rare pair of antique Japanese Karashishi paintings in a landscape of rocks and peony flowers on gold leaf ground in fine handmade frames, Edo period, early 18th century. The Karash...
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Early 18th Century Japanese Antique Edo Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Edo paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Edo paintings for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the Early 20th Century, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage paintings created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include wall decorations, asian art and furniture and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with fabric, paper and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Edo paintings made in a specific country, there are Asia, East Asia, and Japan pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original paintings, popular names associated with this style include Mitani Toshuku, Rimpa School, Tosa Mitsusuke, and Yanagisawa Kien. 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 differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,000 and tops out at $230,000 while the average work can sell for $8,900.

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