Rare Five Japanese Signed Oshi-E Textile Art Panels Meiji Period

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On offer is a set of five Japanese textile art panels called Oshi-E circa Meiji Period (1868-1912). This unusual set … Read more On offer is a set of five Japanese textile art panels called Oshi-E circa Meiji Period (1868-1912). This unusual set of panels depict various aspects of daily life in Edo time with beautiful details. Some of these panels are snapshots of the buzzling commercial activities at the marketplace, providing insight into the signages, architecture, costumes and how people interacted within a historical and pictorial context. Other panels depict daily leisure activities such as lounging in the park or visiting friends. The realistic rendering and attention to details are not short of "photographic" quality. From the signage of the shops to the motions and attires of the individual characters, from the hairstyle, small ornaments, down to the facial expression, were all recorded in great details. Each panel was signed with the artist's name Yukihana in Kanji with a red seal.
These panels are unframed and await your custom touch (framing with inner gilt spacer and mat costs about 250-500 depending on the material chosen, see a framed example in the last picture of a single framed panel we have for sale). We offer them for sale individually, but it will be great for a collector to consider the whole set so that they can stay together.
The Oshi-E (also known as kiritori zaiku) is a type of ornamental textile art dated back to the Muromachi period (1392-1573). It started among the elite aristocratic women in Kyoto before spreading wider in the Japanese society. Throughout Edo and Meiji period, Oshi-E were sometimes used to make offerings to the altars in the temple and in the late 19th century, it was exported to the west along with the other embroidery textile art. Oshi-E was made by using silk wadding to create a relief design. Various silk fabric swaps and sometimes wires and tassels, often recycled from older kimonos among the other pieces, were used to create different desired effects. Much detail was focused on the elaborate dresses, head wears, faces, and plants in the setting. Ink and watercolors were used to facilitate the details of the design such as the background painting and the facial detailing. The work was time-consuming and in Meiji period, it was considered as a feminine accomplishment along with ikebana, embroidery and tea ceremony.
According to the book: Threads of silk and gold: ornamental textile from Meiji Japan published by Ashmolean museum of art and archaeology University of Oxford, few examples survived to this day.
Reference: Threads of Silk and Gold: Ornamental Textile from Meiji Japan published by Ashmolean museum of art and archaeology University of Oxford. Page 178. See less