253 - A SUPERB SIX-PANEL ‘WEEPING WILLOW, HERON AND NADESHIKO’ BYOBU (FOLDING SCREEN)

A SUPERB SIX-PANEL ‘WEEPING WILLOW, HERON AND NADESHIKO’ BYOBU (FOLDING SCREEN) Japan, 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Ink, watercolors, gouache, and gold leaf on paper. Mounted within silk brocade borders on six black-lacquered wood panels with finely chased brass fittings. Finely painted on a luminous gold-leaf ground with a monumental weeping willow, its gnarled trunk and long, cascading branches extending dramatically across the upper register above a meandering dark stream. The banks are densely carpeted with clusters of white, pink, and red nadeshiko (pinks), interspersed with delicate grasses to form a richly patterned foreground. At right, a solitary white heron glides across the open gold ground, lending movement and an elegant counterpoint to the sweeping mass of the willow. SIZE 174.5 x 378 cm Condition: Good condition with old wear, some soiling, minor staining and scratches, a few small tears, and scattered flaking to pigments and gold leaf. Few small losses with associated old repairs and touchups. The individual panels have been reinforced with metal fittings. The reverse with signs of wear and use and one small tear to a corner. The present screen draws upon the decorative vocabulary of several major traditions of Edo-period painting. The monumental scale of the willow and expansive gold ground recall the grand decorative compositions associated with the Kano school, while the refined treatment of seasonal flora and lyrical engagement with nature reflect the yamato-e tradition cultivated by the Tosa school. At the same time, the bold asymmetry of the composition, broad areas of uninterrupted gold, and rhythmic, almost abstract distribution of the flowering plants reveal strong affinities with Rinpa design. The nadeshiko, or Japanese pink, holds a particularly important place in the classical imagery of the seasons. It is one of the Seven Grasses of Autumn (aki no nanakusa), a group celebrated in Japanese poetry since the eighth-century Manyoshu. Here, the delicate flowers spread in profusion beneath the massive willow, their intricate patterning contrasting with the broad sweep of the tree and the solitary heron moving through the otherwise empty gold field. Museum comparison: Compare the closely related pair of six-panel folding screens ‘Birds and Flowers in Spring and Autumn’ by Tosa Mitsuoki (1617-1691), Edo period, 17th century, 156.8 x 366.8 cm each, in the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe, The Egawa Collection. Compare the closely related pair of six-panel 'Cherry and Maple Trees' byobu by Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828), dated to the early 1820s, 175 x 358.1 cm each, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, object numbers 2018.55.1, .2. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related pair of Japanese six-panel folding screens with herons, Edo period, 18th century, each 169.5 x 382 cm, at Christie’s, The Collector: English Furniture, Works of Art and Portrait Miniatures, 22 May 2019, London, lot 60 (sold for GBP 60,000 or approx. EUR 93,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).