Lot 37B
Asian, Japan, Edo period, Sumiyoshi School, Koka 2, November 1833 CE. An extensive Shunga scroll depicting a world of explicitly erotic and fantastical sexual possibilities, 19 scenes of unrelated sexual tableaux, rather than a sequential narrative, handpainted in a vivid and colorful manner on handmade paper. Men seducing women, women seducing men, couples, and larger groups engaged in various sexual acts - many varied sexual pairings to provide as much variety as possible. The backstory to the iconography is often found on accompanying texts. This example shows a large text panel at one end, along with a colophon that deems it to be a copy of a seventeenth century Sumiyoshi School Shunga handscroll.
Translation is as follows: gokusai-shiki (colored painting); ichi shunga jukyuban, ikkann (one shunga, 19th one roll); senzo naiki hiromichi nuydo jokei ga hen (ancestor's note, Hiromichi nyudo Jokei painted); ichidan migoto no deki kore ari (all in great quality); migi shitae mono in jiden tokoro kore mono nari (The "right part" of this painting, person's mark/seal); Sumiyoshi Naiki (Sumiyoshi note); Tenpo 4, Juichi gatsu (1833, November)
Published in Erotic Aspects of Japanese Culture, L. Gichner, Literary Licensing, LLC, October 15, 2011. Size: Measures 35'-4" (1066.8 cm.) L x 15-3/4" (38 cm.) W.
The Sumiyoshi school, a late seventeenth-century offshoot of the Tosa school, worked primarily for the Edo shogunate. For a time it produced far more lively works, often in genre style, inspired by the skill of Sumiyoshi Gukei (1631-1705). Shunga, produced between the 16th century and the 19th century by Ukiyo-e ("floating world") artists, has its origins in ancient China and is a Japanese term for erotic art. The literal translation of the Japanese word shunga means picture of spring; "spring"; is a common euphemism for sex. Most shunga are a type of Ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format. While rare, there are extant erotic painted handscrolls called kakemono-e, such as this example, which predate the Ukiyo-e movement (See Forbidden Images - Erotic art from Japan's Edo Period (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland: Helsinki City Art Museum. 2002. pp. 23-28.) Rather than using the woodblock printing techniques of the Ukiyoe artists, scrolls were actually individually handpainted, making them more expensive than prints. This is a rare work of ancient erotica, a genre that was also practiced by some of the most famous Ukiyo-e artists including none other than Katsushika Hokusai, Kitagawa Utamaro, Hishikawa Moronobu, and Suzuki Harunobu. Provenance: Ex-private east coast USA collection, acquired from Dr. Joseph Chess, Larchmont, NY. All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. #107413
- Condition: Intact. Paper shows some aging; however, overall the scroll is in excellent condition and the painting is still fabulously vibrant.
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