Page 42 - Bonhams Japanese Works of Art September 2015 New York

3051 3051
UNKOKU TOEKI (1591-1644)
3052 Mountain Landscape
Fusuma, re-mounted as a large two-panel folding screen, ink on
40 | BONHAMS paper, signed Unkoku Toeki hitsu, with one seal reading Toeki
69 3/4 x 74 7/8in (176.5 x 190.2cm)
$8,000 - 10,000

Unkoku Toeki, known as Sesshu IV, was the second son and pupil of
Unkoku Togan (1547-1618). Upon the death of his father in 1618, he
was designated the official painter to the Mori family, daimyos of Suo
Province. His paintings, rather delicate and naturalistic, still exhibit
characteristics associated with his father and the Unkoku school, while
incorporating a decorative quality inspired by the Momoyama aesthetic.

3052
ATTRIBUTED TO UNKOKU TOEKI (1591-1644)
Ducks and Reeds
Early Edo period (17th century)
Fusuma, now mounted as a two-panel folding screen, ink, color and
gold on paper; of two ducks in a reed-lined pond partially hidden in
mist; unsigned
60 3/4 x 62 5/8in (154.7 x 159.2cm)
$4,000 - 6,000

Provenance
Purchased July 5, 1958 from Yamamoto, Tokyo

PROPERTY FROM A SAN FRANCISCO COLLECTION

3053
ANONYMOUS KANO SCHOOL (17TH CENTURY)
Tales of Genji: Utsusemi
Large six-panel folding screen, ink, color and metallic pigments on
paper applied with gold leaf; unsigned
65 3/4 x 145 3/4in (167.1 x 370.2cm)
$15,000 - 25,000

This screen illustrates an episode in the third chapter in Genji
monogatari, (The Tale of Genji), the 11th-century novel concentrating
on the life and loves of Prince Genji. Utsusemi (literally, “empty
cicada”), the name of one of Genji’s first love interests, was able to
avoid his advances by fleeing, her sheer silk gown left behind; hence
the comparison with a cast-off semi (cicada) shell.

In this first scene, Genji has been guided by Kogimi, the younger
brother of Utsusemi, and has stolen his way into the house of the
Governor of Kii in Nakagawa, were he is able to spy on Utsusemi and
Nokiba no Ogi (sister of the Governor of Kii) playing go.

Kano-school illustrations of Genji monogatari and Ise monogatari (The
Tales of Ise) rely on Tosa-school and other prototypes that were slowly
codified in the Imperial edokoro (painting workshops) during the late
Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi periods. Painters studying in the
various Kano ateliers preserved the established basic composition but
slightly modified the facial features and some of the natural elements,
tending to be slightly more realistic in treatment when compared to
classic Japanese court painting.