13th Jun, 2025 10:00
Fine Japanese Art
301
A SIX-PANEL BYOBU (FOLDING SCREEN) DEPICTING FLOATING ‘TALE OF GENJI’
Sold for €7,800
including Buyer's Premium
Japan, 17th-18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
Ink, watercolors, gold, and silver on paper. Mounted on silk brocade on six wood panels with metal fittings. Superbly painted with nine folding fans floating over stylized waves, partially obscured by scrolling clouds; each fan painted with a scene from the Tale of Genji, one depicting Ukifune and her lover drifting in a boat.
SIZE 172 x 358 cm
Condition: Good condition with wear and fresh colors. Some soiling, few stains, and flaking to pigment. Tiny losses and small tears, some with associated repairs and touchups. The back with signs of wear, small tears, and losses, all as visible in the images provided.
Provenance: Estate from the Foote Family Trust, San Francisco, USA.
Fans decorated with paintings are mounted on this painted screen to create the illusion that they are scattered across a river. Screens of this type were inspired by the story of a prince and his retinue crossing a bridge in Kyoto. When the prince tossed his fan into the river, the sight was so beautiful that his companions followed suit, tossing their fans and remarking at their beauty as they fluttered toward the water.
Museum comparison:
For a related six-panel folding screen depicting floating fans in a river, with calligraphy by Hon'ami Koetsu, early 17th century, see The National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number F1903.120-121.
Auction comparison:
Compare a pair of six-fold screens depicting fans with scenes and playing cards on waves, Edo period, at Christie’s, Art of Japan, 5 December 2017, London, lot 83 (sold for GBP 62,500).
Japan, 17th-18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)
Ink, watercolors, gold, and silver on paper. Mounted on silk brocade on six wood panels with metal fittings. Superbly painted with nine folding fans floating over stylized waves, partially obscured by scrolling clouds; each fan painted with a scene from the Tale of Genji, one depicting Ukifune and her lover drifting in a boat.
SIZE 172 x 358 cm
Condition: Good condition with wear and fresh colors. Some soiling, few stains, and flaking to pigment. Tiny losses and small tears, some with associated repairs and touchups. The back with signs of wear, small tears, and losses, all as visible in the images provided.
Provenance: Estate from the Foote Family Trust, San Francisco, USA.
Fans decorated with paintings are mounted on this painted screen to create the illusion that they are scattered across a river. Screens of this type were inspired by the story of a prince and his retinue crossing a bridge in Kyoto. When the prince tossed his fan into the river, the sight was so beautiful that his companions followed suit, tossing their fans and remarking at their beauty as they fluttered toward the water.
Museum comparison:
For a related six-panel folding screen depicting floating fans in a river, with calligraphy by Hon'ami Koetsu, early 17th century, see The National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number F1903.120-121.
Auction comparison:
Compare a pair of six-fold screens depicting fans with scenes and playing cards on waves, Edo period, at Christie’s, Art of Japan, 5 December 2017, London, lot 83 (sold for GBP 62,500).
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