An Important Japanese Six Panel Double Sided Screen koshi byobu

Lot Details & Additional Photographs

Edo period (1615-1868), 17th or 18th century, paper with ink, colors, and , and gold, the six panels are decorated in meticulous detail with scenes from daily life in Kyoto through the four seasons, begins with blooming cherry blossom in the spring on the very right panel and continues through to winter and the city and mountains covered in snow on the very left panel, this screen is a rare because it features painting on both sides of the screen, the reverse side is decorated with a serene black and gold shadowed mountain landscape with three white poem slips to the very right panel, no calligraphy is visible, presented preserved in an open back gold faux bamboo frame.

Frame dimensions 29 x 116 x 1 in., Each panel 21 1/2 x 18 in.

From the Collection of Adrienne and John C. Maxwell, Jr.

Few double sided screens from the early Edo period remain, and this is an excellent example of the koshi byobu size, which became popular during the tramultous Sengoku or "Warring" period (1477-1573) because the shorter size allowed the divider to be placed in a room without fear of an assassin being hidden on the other side. This Edo period version shows fantastic details of daily life in Kyoto showcasing different trades, shops, noble figures, with the added feature of the seasonal cultural traditions like the obon circle dance on the fifth panel. Not only a beautiful work of art, but a wonderful representation of history.

For a similar Edo period koshi byobu, but only decorated on one side, see Bonhams, London, May 12, 2022, Lot 315.

Overall good estate condition; some areas of loss and restoration to left most panel and also along edges where panels meet; scattered cracking and scratches to paper with some lifting and small losses; an area of water staining to to upper area of third panel; not examined outside of the frame.