Antique Chinese Panel Folding Screen Byobu Landscape Painting

Details

Description

Please read description all the way through. Ty

Late 19th Century Hand-painted six-panel Chinese folding screen

Estimated Period: Late Edo … Read more Please read description all the way through. Ty

Late 19th Century Hand-painted six-panel Chinese folding screen

Estimated Period: Late Edo Period to Meiji Period (Late 19th Century)
Artist / School: Signed "Seki" (積) with two red artist seals reading "Denrei" (田嶺). Painted in a traditional Nanga (Literary School) / late Kano School style.

In late Edo and Meiji-era art circles, painters aligned themselves closely with Chinese literary styles. Because of this, it was standard practice to use multiple professional art names (gō) interchangeably.
The School: Nanga (Literary School) painter or a late-stage follower of the Kano School.The Lineage: Nanga painters intentionally signed works with highly stylized single-character family roots (like Seki) while reserving their seal stamps to state their more official classical name (Denrei).

This byobu is depicting an expansive, continuous classical Chinese ink-and-wash landscape (Sansuiga). The narrative iconography features multiple intricate figural scenes. The screen is framed with its original deep blue and metallic gold silk brocade mounting featuring a repeating geometric phoenix motif, set in a traditional black lacquered wood frame.

Rather than a generic landscape, the screen illustrates specific classical tales, a popular choice for screens intended for educated households: I don’t know all of the tales but some of them are:

The crouching tiger painted next to a rocky cliffside represents the "Tiger in the Mountains" or Torazu. In East Asian art, the tiger represents earthly power, yin energy, and protection against evil spirits.

The speckled gold leaf (sunago) floating in the air above the tiger indicates a divine or mystical setting.The Magic Vessel / Immortal Scene depicts two figures looking in awe at a small round container or cauldron emitting rays of light or steam. It is the story of Taoist alchemy, or the discovery of an elixir/relic by ancient sages.

The Travelers and the Deer. This panel shows three figures under a pine tree interacting with a deer. In Asian folklore, the deer (shika) is a direct symbol of longevity, prosperity, and a companion to the Taoist Immortals (Sennin).

It creates a dramatic display at approximately 11 feet wide when fully extended.

Visual features

Style & Line Weight-
— Sharp, angular contours on the mountains, shifting to smooth, delicate lines on the human figures and the tiger are a Classic adaptation of Chinese Southern School (Nanga) technique, which prioritized poetic movement and expressive lines over strict realism.

Gold Pigmentation-
—Clustered, irregular speckles of gold leaf floating randomly above the tiger and surrounding the mountain pavilion. Known as sunago-uchi (pounded gold dust). Rather than flat gold background sheets used for pure decorative screens, this dusting technique was specifically utilized to symbolize spiritual mists or divine atmospheres in narrative paintings.

Brocade Mounting-
—Tight, metallic gold and deep blue brocade silk framework decorated with a recurring phoenix-cloud design This specific quality of woven border fabric indicates it was mounted by a high-end workshop, meant to be displayed in a formal parlor room (Zashiki).

DIMENSIONS

• Six hinged panels
• Each panel: approximately 22”W × 62½”H
• Fully extended: approximately 132”W × 62½”H or 11 ft x 5.2 ft
• Displayed width will be a bit less because the screen must remain partially folded to stand securely.

CONDITION

This piece is almost 150 years old and has not been restored . it has age-related cracking, staining,lifting and a Cpl of places where the paper is totally worn. there are a Cpl small tears in one of the two layers of panels’ back layer only. It does not go through to the front. Please review all photographs closely. It is being sold as-is.

It is delicate and can be displayed as is right now, it works as a large decorative statement piece, restoration project or study piece for a collector of Japanese art. Personally, I always liked the wear on it.

Local pickup in Tacoma, Washington. It is large, fragile and not suitable for ordinary parcel shipping. Buyer is responsible for careful transportation.

This artwork has been in my family for nearly 50 years. My mom traveled to Japan frequently when I was a kid ,during the 80s, for work. She brought it back with her but I’m not sure the exact year. I do not have a house big enough to mount it for display. and it definitely should be admired and appreciated in someone’s home. It’s still an incredibly beautiful piece and if I thought that I would ever be able to enjoy it, I would consider it well worth restoring. I’m open to offers. So let’s talk. I’m open to hearing offers, but please don’t lowball me. This screen is nearly 150 years old. It’s 11 feet by 5 feet. If the listing is up, it’s available. I’m currently accepting offers. The first person who makes an offer over the “reserve” ( the least amount I’m willing to sell it for), I will accept it. Please don’t ask what the best offer is so far. Let me know if you have any questions. But please don’t ask me if it’s really a dollar. I’ve had a couple hundred of those inquiries. I just can’t respond to them. A serious buyer would at least read the whole listing. Thank you for your interest. See less