Japanese Taishō/Shōwa Painting Flock of Ducks in Winter Pond

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A large and magnificent Japanese Nihonga school framed painting presenting a classical kacho-ga composition depicting a flock of Mandarin ducks … Read more A large and magnificent Japanese Nihonga school framed painting presenting a classical kacho-ga composition depicting a flock of Mandarin ducks amid sheltering reeds in a winter pond landscape. The Taishō or early Shōwa period painting is signed and sealed attributed to Kawamura Hōshū 河村芳舟(1879–1963) Signed/sealed: 芳舟Hōshū. Identity: Japanese painter, Tottori Prefecture. Early study with the Kano School; after went to Tokyo and entered the atelier of Hashimoto Gaho of the Kano school. The pond landscape features a group of waterfowl including mandarin ducks and other birds swimming and resting among reeds and marsh grasses, rendered with delicate brushwork and soft tonal gradation. The large painting unfolds across a luminous silk grounded dusted with scattered gold flecks enhancing the atmospheric effect, the composition conveying a sense of quiet natural harmony. The ducks are painted with exceptional precision with the feathers rendered in individual strokes of natural mineral pigments. The reeds are painted in sweeping calligraphic strokes across the entirety of the composition. The painting has a seam in the middle and appears to have been originally a two-fold screen. The piece is signed on the lower right with three characters by artist, and is housed in a 20th century custom veneered frame bearing a label of Afflare Arts and Custom Framing, CA on verso. The impressive painting is professionally mounted behind plexiglass in its frame measures over 5 feet high and over 5.5 feet wide. From an estate in San Francisco, CA.

Dimensions: 67.5"w x 1"d x 62.5"h

Circa: Early 20th Century, Japan

Materials: Paint, Paper, Plexiglass, Silk, Wood

Condition: Good, minor wear consistent with age and use. Beautifully executed with minor age-appropriate wear commensurate age. The ground shows light toning, foxing, fading, creasing, and a large seam in the middle as seen in photos. Very minor wear and nicks to frame as expected. See less