A PAIR OF JAPANESE KANO SCHOOL SIX-FOLD PAPER SCREENS, BYOBU

Possibly early Edo period

Ink and colour on paper, mounted in silk brocade and wood frames with metal fittings, unsigned

150cm high, 336cm long (2)

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PROVENANCE:

English Private Collection, purchased in Japan in the 1960’s

Byobu screens have both decorative and functional purposes serving as room dividers for large halls which can be rearranged according to the needs of the moment. The current pair of screens are a statement piece by a skilled master of the Kano school designed to adorn an important household.

Birds and flowers in a landscape setting are a classical go-to subject of the Kano school painters. Many of the examples depicted here have deeply auspicious meaning individually, although an old Chinese motif becomes apparent. Known as the Three Friends of Winter (in Japanese the Shochikubai) the bamboo, pine tree and prunus thrive in harsh winter environment symbolising perseverance and resilience.

The pine and a blossoming prunus rising above a rapid brook are framing the composition on each end, closing the cycle of the changing seasons which unfolds before the viewer as a continuous narrative. The wild landscape is populated by pairs of cranes, Mandarin ducks, egrets and sparrows among trees, wild chrysanthemum and bush clovers (hagi).

The treatment of the gnarled prunus tree and the small waterfall are typical stylistic vocabulary of the Kano workshop and echo the works of the earlier Momoyama period masters, suggesting a highly skilled artist versed in the best visual lexicon. The subdued palette (perhaps dimmed by time and wear) and lack of ostentatious gilt suggests an early 17th century date and refined taste based on Chinese examples.

The lot comes together with a set of wall mounts.

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