Makimono hand scroll, ten shunga paintings, Miyagawa Choshun, Japan
Directory: Antiques: Regional Art: Asian: Japanese: Paintings: Pre 1800: Item # 1488421
Please refer to our stock # 11093 when inquiring.
A long horizontal handscroll with ten individual hand-painted shunga scenes, of couples in the act of lovemaking. The focus is on the couples and their actions; there is no background. One couple uses a dildo. For as far as anyone wears a garment, those are decorated in fine details.
Signature at the end of the scroll, on the far-left side: Yamato-e Miyagawa Choshun zu. Gourd-shaped red seal: Choshun.
Very fine and detailed paintings in black ink, mineral colors and gofun (pulverized calcified shells) on paper. The hair and some of the garments are painted in black lacquer which has a sheen to it. The photos show the hair as gray, which is a light reflection. In reality, the hair is jet black.
The scroll consists of four pieces, joined together and laid down on thin Japanese backing paper for stability. Wooden scroll knobs. Comes with a futomaki, protective roll.
Japan, Edo period, 18th century
Height 10.75 inches, length ca. 130 inches.
More photos available upon request
Condition:
Missing areas along the lower edge, mostly in the first quarter of the scroll, few small missing spots and areas throughout the scroll, and restored tears. All of this stabilized by the background paper.
Provenance: Private collection Portland, OR, purchased from Brodney Gallery in Boston, MA
Miyagawa Choshun (ca 1683-1752) was a painter in the ukiyo-e style, founder of the Miyagawa school of painting. He lived and worked most of his life in Edo. Early on, he was influenced stylisticly by Hishikawa Moronobu, borrowing groups of figures from Moronobu’s paintings. He painted in hanging scroll format and created hand scrolls. He did not design woodblock prints.
