Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5

Japanese Painting, Framed Panel, Willow and Sparrows, circa 1920 Taisho era

About the Item

Anonymous Summer willow and sparrows Taisho period, circa 1920 Framed painting. Mineral pigments, mica, gold, ink and gofun on silk Dimensions (framed): H. 98 cm x W. 135 cm x D. 2.5 cm (38.5” x 53” x 1”) This Japanese nihonga painting depicts sparrows sheltering in a willow tree that overflows the pictorial space. In Japan the willow is intimately associated with high summer and what is conveyed here is the respite from overwhelming heat which the lush green tree provides. Extremely bold in its Minimalist palette of greens and browns this Classic nihonga image is both unmistakably modern and quintessentially Japanese. Painted on silk, the beautiful emerald greens are made of finely ground malachite mineral mixed with animal glue as an adhesive. Tiny silver flecks of mica have then been mixed with the green pigment to further enhance its glow. The open background areas have been painted with gold, highlighting the fierceness of the sun. The applied layers of malachite pigments have been built-up in individual strokes in a technique approximating oil painting. Nihonga artists experimented with such approaches to counter the perception of the time that Japanese art was flat. The branches have been done in a somewhat indefinite style of brushwork, doing away with the strong outlines that previously characterized Japanese art and using wash techniques so that colors and tones seem to melt into one another without overly perceptible transitions and edges. As with the best nihonga of the period, the artist has seamlessly incorporated elements of Western influence into their work while remaining true to the ideals of historical Japanese art, materials and techniques. The work is unsigned and unsealed. This is likely the result of the painting being made specifically for presentation at one of the many exhibitions which proliferated during the late 1910s and early 1920s. The silk painting is mounted on a panel, the frame of roiro mirror-polished, black lacquer. Conservation, mounting and framing was carried out in Kyoto utilizing traditional techniques and exceptional craftsmen.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 38.5 in (97.79 cm)Width: 53 in (134.62 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Style:
    Taisho (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    circa 1920
  • Condition:
    Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. The painting was originally mounted on a 'tsuitate' screen (a single panel portable partition screen).
  • Seller Location:
    Kyoto, JP
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU2472316145751
More From This SellerView All
  • Japanese Framed Silk Painting, Turtledoves and Peaches, Taisho Era, circa 1920
    Located in Kyoto, JP
    Nakamura Daizaburo Turtledoves in a Peach Tree Taisho period, circa 1920 Framed painting. Mineral pigments, ink and gofun on silk Signed: Daizaburo Dimensions (framed)...
    Category

    Vintage 1910s Japanese Taisho Paintings and Screens

    Materials

    Wood, Silk

  • Japanese Painting, Framed Panel, Dahlias and Roosters, circa 1920
    Located in Kyoto, JP
    Tanaka Tessen (b.1890) Dahlias and Roosters Taisho period, circa 1920 Framed painting. Mineral pigments and ink on silk. Dimensions (framed): H. 159 cm x W. 97 cm x D. 2.5 cm (62.5” x 38” x 1”) An ornate and complex composition in which the artist explores almost the entire painting surface. The coloration is bold and evocative and the tinted silk ground recreates the warm golden glow of sunset. Soft, luminous brushwork details the black feathers of the roosters, which seem to cloud and blur in counterpoint to the sharper points of the eyes and beaks. Their brilliant red combs balance the composition, echoing the rich burgundy hues of the dahlias; the flowers exquisite and lifelike. Dahlias were an exotic subject favored by painters of the Taisho era. The painting belongs to the school of Kyoto Nihonga, exemplifying the principles of decorative elegance and consumate brush technique with which it was intimately associated. Painters of the time relied on the Shijo school method, basing the forms of the composition from life sketches. Sometimes they were then integrated with elements derived from Chinese bird and flower...
    Category

    Vintage 1920s Japanese Taisho Paintings and Screens

    Materials

    Silk, Wood

  • Japanese Painting, Hanging Scroll, 'Playful Cat' by Hirose Toho, 1920s Taisho
    By Hirose Toho
    Located in Kyoto, JP
    Playful Cat Hirose Toho (1875-1930) Hanging scroll, ink, mineral pigments and gofun on silk. Painting inscription: Toho Sha Painting seals: Upper - Hirose Hitoshi Lo...
    Category

    Vintage 1920s Japanese Taisho Paintings and Screens

    Materials

    Silk

  • Japanese Screen. Taisho era Circa 1920. Pheasant in Deep Forest. Color on Silk.
    Located in Kyoto, JP
    Osawa Tokan (b. 1899) In the Forest Two-panel Japanese screen. Ink, color and gofun on silk. A major work of oversized proportions combining an intimate, naturalistic depiction of...
    Category

    Early 20th Century Japanese Taisho Paintings and Screens

    Materials

    Silk

  • Japanese Painting, Hanging Scroll, Circa 1930, Amaranth and Rooster
    Located in Kyoto, JP
    Amaranth and Rooster Artist unknown Hanging scroll, ink, mineral pigment and gofun on silk. Painting inscription: Tojo ?? Painting seal: Tojo ?? circa 1930 Dimensions: Scroll:...
    Category

    Early 20th Century Japanese Taisho Paintings and Screens

    Materials

    Silk

  • Early 20th Century Japanese Framed Painting, White Peacocks on Silk and Gold
    Located in Kyoto, JP
    Kasahara Seiken White peacocks, circa 1916 Framed painting. Ink, color and gofun on silk. A Taisho period Japanese nihonga painting depicting a pair of white peacocks re...
    Category

    Early 20th Century Japanese Taisho Paintings and Screens

    Materials

    Gold Leaf

You May Also Like
  • Japanese Bijin-ga Painting of Woman in Period Kimono, Taisho Period, circa 1920
    Located in Prahran, Victoria
    Rare Japanese Taisho period Bijin-ga style painting of a beautiful woman in period kimono holding a fan, circa 1920. Bijin-ga is a Japanese term used to describe paintings or pict...
    Category

    Vintage 1920s Japanese Taisho Paintings and Screens

    Materials

    Silk

  • Japanese Taisho Two Panel Screen Heian Period Flute Player
    Located in Rio Vista, CA
    Extraordinary Japanese Taisho period two panel byobu screen depicting Fujiwara Yasumasa playing the flute in the Ichihara Moor. Fujiwara Yasumasa (958 to 1036) was a famous Heian period...
    Category

    20th Century Japanese Taisho Paintings and Screens

    Materials

    Wood, Paper, Silk

  • Japanese Four Panel Screen: Japanese Tree Sparrows on Stacks of Bailed Rice
    Located in Hudson, NY
    Sparrows ravish freshly harvested rice, drying on stakes, beyond wild chrysanthemum. Mineral pigments on silk. Signed in the lower left corner, signature reads: Soetsu. With a simple...
    Category

    Early 20th Century Japanese Paintings and Screens

    Materials

    Wood, Lacquer, Silk

  • Large Antique Japanese Scroll Depicting a Nesting Crane, Taisho Period
    Located in Prahran, Victoria
    Large and exceptional Japanese hanging scroll with a realistically painted depiction of a nesting crane by Yoshifuji Yoshio, Taisho/Showa perio...
    Category

    Early 20th Century Japanese Taisho Paintings and Screens

    Materials

    Paper, Silk

  • Japanese Two Panel Screen, Cherry Blossoms in Willow Landscape
    Located in Hudson, NY
    Dramatic and beautifully executed cherry blossoms trickle down the two panels with natural willows calmly coexisting with luminous gold dust fading to the ground. Mineral pigments an...
    Category

    Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Paintings and Screens

    Materials

    Gold

  • Pair of Japanese Taisho Period Screens Paragons of Filial Piety
    Located in Rio Vista, CA
    Impressive pair of Japanese screens from the Taisho period meiji. Each six-panel screen depicts an image from the 24 paragons of filial piety ...
    Category

    20th Century Japanese Taisho Paintings and Screens

    Materials

    Brass, Gold Leaf

Recently Viewed

View All