Folding screen with festive genre painting - Silk

An intriguing tall six-panel folding screen 屏風 (byôbu) with an elaborate genre painting in the style of the Tosa school 土佐派 (Tosa-ha). Against a shimmering gold-leaf ground, hundreds of finely rendered figures bring scenes of processions, commerce and everyday life in Edo-period Japan to life. A daimyô procession 大名行列 (daimyô gyôretsu) crosses the upper left of the composition. Nearby, women in vivid pink kimono gather beside an enclosed garden. Elsewhere, travellers pass restaurants and market stalls offering food and sweets, a vendor displays baskets of hamaguri clams, and another shop presents paintings. The many small encounters invite the eye to travel across all six panels. Broad banks of gold cloud weave the scenes together. Their scalloped edges are detailed with raised dots of shell-white pigment 胡粉 (gofun). Executed in natural pigments and ink on mulberry paper with gold leaf. The painting is bordered by two patterned silk trims and set within a black lacquered wooden frame, fitted with engraved protective metal fittings decorated with scrolling foliage 唐草 (karakusa). Period: Japan – Late Edo period (first half 19th century). Dimensions: Total width 375.2 cm (2 × 63.6 cm, 4 × 62 cm); Height 171.1 cm. In very good restored condition for its age, with small wear to both sides consistent with age. Restorations include localised touch-ups to the gold leaf. Please refer to the photographs for a clear condition reference. The folding screen is ideal for mounting flat on a wall and presenting as a single work of art, but can of course also be displayed as a standalone piece. When shipped, a certificate of authenticity will be included.

Estimate:$4,929.02

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