Ukita Ikkei (Japanese, 1795-1859). A beautiful 19th century silk painting mounted as a scroll by Ukita Ikkei, a significant figure in the revival of yamato-e painting, a revered Japanese form of court painting. The distinctly Japanese birdseye view composition features a nobleman who is reading to a young child, the pair sitting on tatami mats within an edifice. Petite pine trees, bamboo, and plum blossoms are presented in the landscape behind the building. The artist's signature and red stamp seal are on the lower right. The painting has an upper and lower, tone-on-tone golden floral border and is surrounded by a gold on mauve floral border. Size of painting: 35.5" L x 15.75" W (90.2 cm x 40 cm) Size of full scroll: 46.5" L x 21.125" W (118.1 cm x 53.7 cm)
According to Patricia J. Graham's article in Grove Art Online, Ukita Ikkei "was an official painter for the imperial court in Kyoto, a waka (31-syllable form) poet and a fervent loyalist, supporting the re-establishment of imperial rule against the Tokugawa shogunate. Ikkei was active at the close of the Edo period (1600–1868). He expressed his political opinions in his paintings, which, though closely modelled on Yamatoe paintings of the Heian (794–1185) and Kamakura (1185–1333) periods (see Japan §VI 3., (iii)), included explicit satires on the contemporary political scene. As a result of his paintings and a speech he wrote questioning the future of the country, he was imprisoned in 1858. Released in 1859, he died shortly afterwards from an illness he had contracted in prison."
Ukita Ikkei's "Courtiers Admiring a Waterfall" scroll painting sold for $1700 at Christie's New York - September 18, 2008 lot 205A.
Provenance: private Evergreen, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Denver, Colorado, USA, collection; acquired 1960 to 2000
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#163700
Condition
Mauve border shows some fading and age wear. Separation between dowels and scroll with some tears/losses. Fabric backing flanking mauve fabric has losses to edges, stains, creases, and there is a repair to the upper end with patch on verso. Painting shows toning, stains, and a few fissures/punctures commensurate with age.