Lot 253*
Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891) Circa 1885
10 November 2011, 13:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £46,850 inc. premium
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Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891)
Circa 1885
Kakejiku, a shikishi-ban urushi-e, mounted as a scroll, painted in brown, black, copper and red lacquer on paper, depicting a kine (pestle) leaning behind an usu (mortar) resting on top of a rushmat beside delicate sprays of wild kiku and wind-swept grasses; the mortar roughly hewn from a knotty tree trunk depicted with a gold lacquer repair secured by a butterfly-shaped cleat, signed in black lacquer shichiju-hachi Zeshin with red lacquer signature in seal form Shin; with wood storage box, the inside of the cover with an inscription by Ayaoka Yushin certifying the authenticity of the scroll, signed Ayaoka Yushin kantei with seal Yushin. 19cm x 17cm (7½in x 6 5/8in). (2).
Kakejiku, a shikishi-ban urushi-e, mounted as a scroll, painted in brown, black, copper and red lacquer on paper, depicting a kine (pestle) leaning behind an usu (mortar) resting on top of a rushmat beside delicate sprays of wild kiku and wind-swept grasses; the mortar roughly hewn from a knotty tree trunk depicted with a gold lacquer repair secured by a butterfly-shaped cleat, signed in black lacquer shichiju-hachi Zeshin with red lacquer signature in seal form Shin; with wood storage box, the inside of the cover with an inscription by Ayaoka Yushin certifying the authenticity of the scroll, signed Ayaoka Yushin kantei with seal Yushin. 19cm x 17cm (7½in x 6 5/8in). (2).
Footnotes
臼と杵図 柴田是真筆 一幅 紙本漆絵 1885年頃
For a short bibliography of Ayaoka Yushin, see footnote to lot 254.
The pestle and mortar are used for pounding mochi (rice cakes) on festive occasions; the Autumnal plants make this design a specific reference to the custom of offering mochi to the full Autumn moon at the moon-viewing ceremony on the fifteenth day of the eighth month and the thirteenth day of the ninth month, according to the old lunar calendar. In this painting Zeshin has simulated a crack in the mortar that has undergone a skilful repair in the form of a butterfly-shaped cleat; the detail of attention lavished on such a simple and rustic item is perhaps to suggest that the mortar belongs to the artist himself and is a treasured possession, lovingly repaired through the ages, and perfectly suited for the use to which it was put.
