274 - UTAGAWA KUNIMINE: BEAUTIES VIEWING CHERRY BLOSSOMS (HANAMI)

UTAGAWA KUNIMINE: BEAUTIES VIEWING CHERRY BLOSSOMS (HANAMI) Utagawa Kunimine (1861-1943), signed Nihon-e Kunimine with seals Utagawa and Kunimine Japan, early 20th century, Meiji (1868-1912) to Taisho period (1912-1926) Ink, color, and gold on silk. Mounted as a hanging scroll with silk brocade borders. Depicting an elegantly dressed beauty seated on a low vermilion platform beneath flowering cherry branches, her kneeling attendant beside her, as she raises her gaze toward the blossoms. The elaborate textile patterns, carefully arranged coiffures, and restrained spring setting are rendered with fine, controlled brushwork. Inscription: To the lower right, signed 日本繪 國峰 Nihon-e Kunimine [Japanese painting, Kunimine], with seals 歌川 Utagawa and 國峰 Kunimine. The tomobako inscribed 花見絵 Hanami-e [Painting of Cherry-Blossom Viewing] and 花見 Hanami [Cherry-Blossom Viewing]. Image SIZE 111 x 40.5 cm, SIZE incl. mounting 203 x 55.5 cm Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and light foxing. The colors remain vibrant. The mounting with expected traces of age and use. The roller ends are lost. With an inscribed wood tomobako (storage box). Utagawa Kunimine (1861-1943), born Katsuta Ginnosuke in Kameido, was the grandson of Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) through his mother and the son of Utagawa Kunihisa II. Active as an illustrator from the early Meiji period, he worked for the Kyoto Hinode Shinbun, Osaka Mainichi Shinbun, and Miyako Shinbun. Around 1901 he returned to Kyoto and increasingly devoted himself to hand-painted works. Museum comparison: Compare a related hanging scroll by the same artist depicting Kannon riding a dragon, size 119.6 x 42 cm, dating from the Taisho to early Showa period, in the collection of the Chiba City Museum of Art, collection no. 2212004. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related bijin-ga depicting a beauty and attendant viewing cherry blossoms by Ito Shoha (1877-1968), 52 x 57 cm, at Christie’s, Japanese and Korean Art, 23 March 2000, New York, lot 300 (sold for USD 16,100 or approx. EUR 27,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). Compare two related hanging scrolls depicting two geisha by the artist's grandfather, Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), each 108.4 x 41.1 cm, at Christie’s, An Important Collection of Japanese Ukiyo-e Paintings, 27 October 1998, New York, lot 107 (sold for USD 66,300 or approx. EUR 119,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).