Page 170 - Fine Japanese Art Bonhams London May 2018

323 TP
A LARGE AND FINE ORNAMENTAL
PADDED-TEXTILE SCREEN
Meiji era (1868-1912), mid/late 19th century
Framed and glazed four-panel folding screen, made in
the oshi-e (padded silk) technique, depicting a daimyo
gyoretsu (procession of a Japanese feudal lord), heading
through a winding path flanked with cypress trees and
Mount Fuji soaring in the background, high ranking
samurai mounted on horseback, one leading from the
front and others accompanying the norimono (palanquin)
from behind, inside which the lord is seated, whilst the
lower-ranked samurai and attendants are on foot carrying
all the paraphernalia, all on a gold-leaf background paper;
unsigned. Overall: 181cm x 244cm (71¼in x 96in);
image: 112cm x 213cm (44in x 83 7/8in).

£8,000 - 12,000
JPY1,200,000 - 1,800,000
US$11,000 - 17,000
Oshi-e, also known as kiritori zaiku, was a technique in
which paper or silk wadding is covered with dyed and
painted silk or paper to create padded relief designs.
Little is known of this technique, but it probably dates
back to the Muromachi Period. In the Meiji era, oshi-e
was regarded as a feminine accomplishment alongside
ikebana, tea ceremony and embroidery. Few recorded
examples survive today but the genre were displayed in
the ‘Fancy Articles’ section of the Philadelphia Centennial
Exhibition of 1876. The unsettling realism of Oshie-e
1
was immortalized in mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo’s
ghostly 1929 novella Oshi-e to tabisuru otoko (The
Man Who Travelled with an Oshie-e, Edogawa Ranpo
zenshu (Complete Works of Edogawa Ranpo), 5, Tokyo,
Kubunsha Bunko, 2005, pp.11-38.

Notes:
1. Hiroko T. McDermott and Clare Pollard, Threads of Silk
and Gold, Ornamental Textiles from Meiji Japan, Oxford,
The Ashmolean Museum, 2012, pp.178-183.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
168 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.