by SUMIYOSHI MONOGATARI NARA EMAKI 住吉物語 奈良絵巻
15 ink & polychrome paintings, alternating with text in a fine calligraphic cursive hand. Three scrolls (28 sheets, 330 x 14,370 mm.; 25 sheets, 330 x 12,460 mm.; 34 sheets, 330 x 16,810 mm.), on fine & smooth torinoko paper, speckled with cut gold leaf on reverse, each with an inner front endpaper of gold-patterned paper, outsides covered in blue silk brocade with the devices of the phoenix (longevity) & mandarin ducks (fidelity) woven in gold, modern core rollers. [Japan: created 1661-72].
Our three large-format, long, and beautiful “Nara emaki” scrolls contain 15 luxurious paintings, enriched with a dazzling display of gold and rich pigments, illustrating the immensely popular story from the early Kamakura era, The Tale of Sumiyoshi. The story anticipates the West’s Cinderella story, employing many of the same themes and the “once upon a time” narrative device. Our scrolls were created at the height of the popularity of Nara ehon and emaki, a time of artistic expression at it most luxurious.
The Tale of Sumiyoshi is a “tenth-century story of a motherless girl who overcomes the abuse of a conniving stepmother. When a dashing courtier falls in love with the young woman, the stepmother fools him into marrying one of her own daughters instead. The heroine is left to fend for herself in the face of aggressive male suitors, in one instance just barely escaping the clutches of a lecherous old man. The girl flees to Sumiyoshi [shrine in Osaka], where she finds protection with her mother’s former nurse. Meanwhile, the courtier, having realized that he married the wrong woman, prays to find his true love. Through the benevolent intervention of the bodhisattva Kannon of Hasedera Temple, the man finds the woman in Sumiyoshi and takes her back to the capital, where they eventually live happily ever after.”–Carpenter & McCormick, The Tale of Genji. A Japanese Classic Illuminated (2019), p. 92.
Our three long scrolls contain a total of 15 paintings, ranging in length from 930 mm. to 455 mm., and tell the story of Japan’s “Cinderella.” These are “deluxe” scrolls with the artist using lavish amounts of gold pigment, gold leaf, and gold sprays (kindei 金泥, “golden mud”) in the complex images. All of the text sections — many of which are very long and written in a fine cursive calligraphic hand — have been subtly decorated with underpaintings in gold “mist” and various gold plant and flower motifs using kindei as the pigment. These patterns, known as shitae 下絵, were made on the sheets before the calligrapher began his work.
The images are finely painted and highly detailed, with the faces delicately tinted, the patterns of the complex kimono patterns carefully portrayed, sliding doors with images painted on them, complex views of the architecture of the mansion rooms, artwork, and tastefully designed gardens with a lush variety of flora. Furnishings are carefully depicted. The artist has often used the fukinuki yatai 吹抜屋台 (“blown-off roof”) method to reveal the scene in full.
In fine condition, preserved in a modern wooden box. Minor marginal worming to a few sections of the text in scroll 2. Minor rubbing, a few minor stains, and other unimportant defects. (Inventory #: 10817)
Our three large-format, long, and beautiful “Nara emaki” scrolls contain 15 luxurious paintings, enriched with a dazzling display of gold and rich pigments, illustrating the immensely popular story from the early Kamakura era, The Tale of Sumiyoshi. The story anticipates the West’s Cinderella story, employing many of the same themes and the “once upon a time” narrative device. Our scrolls were created at the height of the popularity of Nara ehon and emaki, a time of artistic expression at it most luxurious.
The Tale of Sumiyoshi is a “tenth-century story of a motherless girl who overcomes the abuse of a conniving stepmother. When a dashing courtier falls in love with the young woman, the stepmother fools him into marrying one of her own daughters instead. The heroine is left to fend for herself in the face of aggressive male suitors, in one instance just barely escaping the clutches of a lecherous old man. The girl flees to Sumiyoshi [shrine in Osaka], where she finds protection with her mother’s former nurse. Meanwhile, the courtier, having realized that he married the wrong woman, prays to find his true love. Through the benevolent intervention of the bodhisattva Kannon of Hasedera Temple, the man finds the woman in Sumiyoshi and takes her back to the capital, where they eventually live happily ever after.”–Carpenter & McCormick, The Tale of Genji. A Japanese Classic Illuminated (2019), p. 92.
Our three long scrolls contain a total of 15 paintings, ranging in length from 930 mm. to 455 mm., and tell the story of Japan’s “Cinderella.” These are “deluxe” scrolls with the artist using lavish amounts of gold pigment, gold leaf, and gold sprays (kindei 金泥, “golden mud”) in the complex images. All of the text sections — many of which are very long and written in a fine cursive calligraphic hand — have been subtly decorated with underpaintings in gold “mist” and various gold plant and flower motifs using kindei as the pigment. These patterns, known as shitae 下絵, were made on the sheets before the calligrapher began his work.
The images are finely painted and highly detailed, with the faces delicately tinted, the patterns of the complex kimono patterns carefully portrayed, sliding doors with images painted on them, complex views of the architecture of the mansion rooms, artwork, and tastefully designed gardens with a lush variety of flora. Furnishings are carefully depicted. The artist has often used the fukinuki yatai 吹抜屋台 (“blown-off roof”) method to reveal the scene in full.
In fine condition, preserved in a modern wooden box. Minor marginal worming to a few sections of the text in scroll 2. Minor rubbing, a few minor stains, and other unimportant defects. (Inventory #: 10817)
(917) 294-2678
