Page 124 - Sotheby's London Fine Japanese Art Nov. 2019

PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN COLLECTION

121

AN IMPORTANT LACQUER PANEL Nanrei also gave him the names he is well
DEPICTING A CROW IN THE NIGHT known by - Zeshin, Tanzan and Rensai. He
SIGNED HACHIJUICHI O ZESHIN [AN worked also with the print artist Utagawa
OLD MAN IN HIS 81 YEAR, ZESHIN Kuniyoshi (1797-1862). Zeshin became
ST
(SHIBATA ZESHIN, 1807-1891)] reknowned in Edo with his varied repertoire
of popular subjects and depiction of everyday
MEIJI PERIOD, LATE 19 TH CENTURY life. He was a skilled lacquer artist and painter
(1887) in the Shijo and Rinpa styles, and introduced
the technique of painting with lacquer on
the wood panel decorated in gold, silver and paper to give a three dimensional effect. His
red sabiage, hiramaki-e, togidashi-e and range of colours and textures was extensive.
takamaki-e on a black lacquer ground with Zeshin made a speciality of sabiage, a lacquer
a crow beside snow-covered grasses with a surface that imitates corrosion. Zeshin made
fitted woodbox inscribed Zeshin saku Karasu a range of lacquer work following the earlier
zu urushigaku [made by Zeshin, lacquer style of Ogawa Haritsu imitating the various
panel depicting a crow] materials which Haritsu used as inlay, like
pottery, lead and coral, all with his varied
PROVENANCE
coloured and textured lacquer. His pictorial
Collection of Sakamoto Goro, Kyoto work, like the present panel, has a vivid three-
dimensionality with the use of maki-e with
LITERATURE
gold and silver. Zeshin was firmly established
Goke Tadanori, ed., Bakumatsu Kaikaki as a popular artist in the Edo period and he
no Shikko Kaiga - Shibata Zeshin Meihin saw the transformation of Japan from a feudal
shu [Lacquer and lacquer craftsmen from society ruled by the samurai to a Western
the period of enlightenment at the end democracy under the Emperor Meiji.
of the Tokugawa regime: Shibata Zeshin
masterpieces], (Tokyo, 1981), no. 118. Another panel depicting a lobster was sold,
Sotheby’s, Fine Japanese Art, lot 157, 14 May,
Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891) studied 2019.
lacquering under Koma Kansai II (1767-1835) 36.8 x 78.1 cm., 14⅛ x 30¾ in.
from the age of eleven. He later studied
painting in the studio of Suzuki Nanrei (1775- £ 150,000-180,000
1844) who gave him the familiar name Reisai. € 169,000-203,000 US$ 187,000-224,000

Detail of signature

122 Buyers are liable to pay both the hammer price (as estimated above) and the buyer’s premium together with any applicable taxes and Artist’s Resale Right (which will depend on the individual circumstances).
Refer to the Buying at Auction and VAT sections at the back of this catalogue for further information.