Highly unusual portrait of a Western lady in full Japanese traditional costume. 134cm x 62cm, signed.
Exceptionally stylish and elegant, this is a wonderful portrait. Dating to the Meiji period, when the country re-opened it's doors after centuries of isolation, the subject is likely the wife of a well heeled foreign dignitary.
Beautifully executed by a master draftsman, the piece has a photo realistic sense that comes from the clarity and accuracy of the drawing. The painting uses the finest levels of detail on ornament and pattern while the face and hands are finished with graphic simplicity. This is the sensibility that would go on to inform the Art Nouveau style and influence a century of illustration in the west.
This will have been a scroll painting originally, looking at the lie of the creases across the surface. The frame has some age too, finished in high quality, thick Japanese lacquer. Someone has lavished a lot of love and money rescuing this painting.
The silk itself is dry, brittle and badly damaged but secured for posterity. With the high quality and well chosen frame this is a wonderful and highly decorative object in it's own right now.
Condition: multiple tears and repair to the silk, some marks. The frame has surface scratches and a couple of tiny bites. Please request more images to see full condition, we are limited to how much we can display on the listing.
UK mainland shipping is £90. Please contact for international shipping quote
19th Century Full length Japanese Portrait on Silk
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