A Rare Pair of Folding Screens “Waka Byōbu”, attributed to Konoe Nobutada (1565-1614)

Description:

Japan, signed Komatsu Saishō hitsu (小松宰相 筆), Momoyama-period / early Edo-period
Je 103 x 285 cm
Pair of six-panel folding screens (byōbu). Ink, gold powder, and limited colour on paper. Each panel of the pair features a series of waka poems, likely from the Heian court tradition, written in black ink in a fluid, elegant cursive kana style (hiragana), characteristic of the aristocratic wayō aesthetic. The poems most likely derive from the classical Hyakunin Isshu corpus or imperial anthologies such as the Kokin Wakashū or Shinkokin Wakashū. All were composed by female poets of antiquity (onna kajin), a theme popular in aristocratic and monastic circles of the early Edo period. The tone varies between melancholic love, solitude, nostalgia, and reflections on nature. Behind the calligraphy is a restrained painting in brown tones depicting a stylised riverside landscape with herons among flowering shrubs; the corresponding second screen shows a deer with two doe amid grasses and blooming bushes. These motifs form the painted background for the calligraphic texts and are further embellished with gold squares of cut gold leaf (kirihaku) and cloud-shaped gold accents. Signed at lower right Komatsu saishō Nobutada hitsu (小松宰相 信尹筆), the poetic title of Konoe Nobutada. The brocade mounting with stylised chrysanthemums in white and brown on a gold ground supports a dating to the 17th century.
From a European private collection
Konoe Nobutada (1565-1614), belonging to the influential Konoe clan of the court aristocracy (a branch of the Fujiwara), was a prominent Japanese court noble, poet, calligrapher, and painter of the Azuchi-Momoyama to early Edo period. He played a central role in the courtly culture of Kyoto. Nobutada was born in 1565 as the son of Konoe Sakihisa and was given the name Nobumoto. In 1580 he was appointed Naidaijin (Minister of the Interior) and in 1585 Sadaijin (Minister of the Left). Following political conflicts, he temporarily resigned and in 1591 was reappointed Kanpaku by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1594 he came into conflict with Emperor Go-Yōzei and was exiled to Satsuma for three years; he returned in 1596 and was appointed Kanpaku again in 1605.
Nobutada is regarded as one of the most important calligraphers of the Momoyama-Edo transitional period. His style, later known as the Sanmyaku’in style, is characterised by dynamism and expressiveness and was continued by his adopted son Nobuhiro. He is celebrated as one of the “Three Brushes of the Kan’ei Period” (Kan’ei Sanpitsu). His works include poem scrolls, folding screens (byōbu), and poem cards (shikishi), often decorated with gold accents; a well-known example is the hanging painting Tenjin Traveling to China from the late Momoyama period.
This pair of six-panel folding screens can be attributed to Nobutada or represents an extremely close work from his immediate circle. The signature, style, and composition correspond to known original works by him. The calligraphic style, gold-leaf collages in the background, and the arrangement of waka are entirely consistent with works of the imperial circle of Kyoto at the beginning of the 17th century. - Cf. a comparable folding screen, identical in composition, style, ornamentation, and signature, is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Waka Byōbu: Six Poems by Women Poets, signed by Konoe Nobutada (Inv. 77228). - Signs of age, with some minor damage and restoration.