A RARE JAPANESE SET OF FOUR PADDED-SILK PANELS^... Lot 1063

A RARE JAPANESE SET OF FOUR PADDED-SILK PANELS^ OSHI-E MEIJI 1868-1912 Variously depicting rice and tea cultivation^ sericulture and porcelain production^ the many figures depicted in relief with silk and paper on the painted ground^ each picture signed Sekka and with a red seal^ all framed and glazed^ the pictures 50cm x 83cm (excl. frames). (4) Cf. H T McDermot & C Pollard^ Threads of Silk and Gold^ Ornamental Textiles from Meiji Japan^ pp178-183^ where comparable examples of oshi-e pictures are discussed. These oshi-e pictures and the one depicting porcelain making in particular are reminiscent of shokunin zukushi-e^ ~pictures of people of various occupations in their workshops~. Craftsmen engaged in daily activities is a theme that became popular in early modern Japan^ especially after the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate^ when Kyoto was rebuilt by these skilled tradesmen. The bird~s-eye perspective used by Sekka is a common technique found in these early depictions of shokunin which came in different formats: albums (gajo)^ handscrolls (makimono) and panels which were displayed in merchants~ houses above alcoves and cupboards^ and which may have inspired these framed pictures. There is an obvious effort to create dynamic and humorous scenes^ with details such as a cat eating fishbones^ doves flying away or a chicken surveying a couple of hens. It is possible that these were also inspired by woodblock prints^ and some details in particular seem to imitate works by Utagawa Hiroshige III (1842-1894). The two men throwing pots in the picture depicting ceramic production is probably inspired by his woodblock print ~Manufacturing Imari Porcelain in Hizen~^ part of the series Dai Nippon Bussan Zue (Products of Greater Japan). This series of 118 prints was produced in August 1877^ shortly before the opening of Japan~s first National Industrial Exposition (Naikoku Kangyô Hakurankai). These highly narrative pictures include a wealth of