239 - A FINE AND LARGE UNKOKU SCHOOL SIX-PANEL 'PEACOCKS IN AN AUTUMNAL GARDEN' BYOBU (FOLDING SCREEN)

A FINE AND LARGE UNKOKU SCHOOL SIX-PANEL 'PEACOCKS IN AN AUTUMNAL GARDEN' BYOBU (FOLDING SCREEN) Japan, 17 th-18 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Ink, watercolors, gouache, and gold leaf on paper. Mounted on silk brocade on six black-lacquered wood panels with finely chased brass fittings incised with blossoming chrysanthemums. Finely painted on a luminous gold ground, depicting a pair of peafowl beneath the spreading branches of a gnarled pine, the male displaying his magnificent tail while the hen forages beside him. The birds are surrounded by bamboo, flowering chrysanthemums, and grasses, while to the right a winding pond is bordered by rocks, reeds, and autumn foliage, with sparrows fluttering above. SIZE 174.5 x 378 cm Condition: Good condition with expected wear. Minor rubbing to pigments, small tears, and few surface scratches. Scattered small losses with associated old repairs and touchups. The reverse with traces of wear and use and few old repairs. The present screen belongs to the distinguished pictorial tradition of the Unkoku school, founded by Unkoku Togan (1547-1618), who served the Mori lords in western Japan and deliberately positioned himself as an heir to the artistic legacy of Sesshu Toyo. Under Togan and his successors, the school developed a highly distinctive manner characterized by disciplined compositions, forceful ink drawing, angular rockwork and vegetation, and an increasing integration of brilliant color and gold grounds. The tradition remained particularly influential throughout the Chugoku region and northern Kyushu during the Edo period. The present work is particularly close to the flower-and-bird paintings of Unkoku Tokaku (born 1647), fifth head of the Unkoku school, who styled himself Sesshu VII and was especially celebrated for his kacho-ga. Tokaku's surviving screens similarly combine monumental birds and vegetation with a carefully ordered disposition of motifs across expansive gold grounds. The comparison is particularly instructive in establishing the present screen within the wider Unkoku pictorial tradition, without suggesting an attribution to Tokaku himself. Peacocks were a long-established subject in Kano bird-and-flower painting, their elaborate plumage particularly effective against luminous gold grounds. Beyond their decorative splendor, peacocks carried auspicious associations, their reputed ability to consume poisonous creatures without harm linking them with protection and the transformation of poison, most famously embodied by Kujaku Myoo, the Peacock Wisdom King. Here, the pine and chrysanthemums introduce further associations of longevity, while the chrysanthemums and reddening foliage situate the garden in autumn. Museum comparison: Compare a closely related six-panel screen by Unkoku Tokaku, one of a pair, dated 17 th-18 th century, in the Yamaguchi Prefectural Art Museum. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related pair of four-panel 'Peacocks' folding screens by Unkoku Tokaku (born 1674), dated to the late 17 th to early 18 th century, each 165 x 286 cm, at Zacke, Fine Japanese Art, 6 December 2024, Vienna, lot 234 (sold for EUR 20,800).