A SIX-FOLD OSHIE SCREEN

Description:

Japan, signed Sekka 雪華 and seal Seppô 雪峯, around 1890-1900
171,5 x 236 cm
The image depicts a daimyō procession, which extends across all four panels in a long, stately formation. Numerous foot soldiers are visible, some on horseback, as well as standard bearers bearing flags with the Tokugawa coat of arms and a fan with the symbol of the sun, which symbolises good fortune and prosperity. The second panel on the right depicts a magnificent palanquin, the daimyô is visible through a side window. Silk appliqués and painting on a golden ground.
From a German private collection, acquird prior to 2007 - Traces of age, partly slightly damaged and rest.
Oshie (literally: pressed pictures) are relief pictures. The components of the pictures are cut outs of cardboard, 'lined' with cotton and covered with fabric. They are then joined together to form a picture and attached to a base. Oshie have been made since the Muromachi period. It was considered a female occupation - like ikebana, for example. In the Meiji period, this craft took on a new lease of life. Artisans such as Katsu Bunsai (1835-1903) were represented at the National Industrial Exhibition of 1877 with large oshie works of narrative content. In Kyoto, Tanaka Rihei and his son Rishichi (1847-1902) were active as dealers and agents for embroidered screens, fukusa (gift cloths) and oshie works from around 1860. Their shop was located on the corner of Karasumaru-dôri and Shichijô. The oshie they offered were labelled with the signature and seal "Seppô", which was applied in the manner of a painter's signature. There is no biographical information about Seppô, but several highly elaborate works by this oshie master are known. These are historical scenes, daimyô scenes or depictions of craftsmen on panels, most of which were assembled into screens.
Cf. the work by Seppô in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and one in private ownership, illustrated in: H. T. McDermott and Clare Pollard, Threads of Silk and Gold, Ornamental Textiles from Meiji Japan, Oxford 2012, pp. 178-185.