Early Meiji Shunga Hanging Scroll, Large Hand-Painted Lovers in an Interior, Kakejiku with Wooden Box
Early Meiji Shunga Hanging Scroll, Large Hand-Painted Lovers in an Interior, Kakejiku with Wooden Box
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
- United States · usually 4–7 days after dispatch, insured and tracked Check the Shipping Flowchart here
- Import
Duties and customs · View the estimate
A guide for this piece: about $97, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
The final figure is set by US Customs and depends on where the piece was made and the kind of object it is. Many antiques over a century old carry no ordinary duty; most jewellery and leather goods add a single-digit rate.
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- Ornate 8 of 10 ·
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- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
| Figure | cm | in |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 67.0 cm | 26.4 in |
| Height | 134.0 cm | 52.8 in |
Every piece is measured by hand, in centimetres as Japan measures. Please allow 1–2 cm (about ½ inch) for the give of the material and the hand that held the tape.
Where each figure is taken · View the plate
Object, sculpture and ceramics
Condition report
Very Good
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
A Kiss Before the Screen
The painter gives the lovers a long, unhurried kiss, then lavishes the same care on the robes, the folding screen with its ink grasses and the bright lacquered box behind them. Large painted shunga of this quality were made for private enjoyment and rarely survive mounted and boxed.
Best for: Collectors of nikuhitsu shunga and Meiji painting
Condition notes
Some soiling to the reverse of the mount; no notable marks on the front of the painting. Light age wear to the mount and box.
Grades, ratings and commentary are given to the best of our ability, knowledge and experience, and condition remains partly a matter of personal perception. What we stand behind without qualification is authenticity, truthful description and provenance, to the best of our knowledge. How we grade
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A large hand-painted shunga of the early Meiji period, in which two lovers share a long kiss before a folding screen, mounted as a hanging scroll and kept in its wooden box.
This piece belongs to the private room of the house and is shown to adults only.
The Piece
Painted shunga, nikuhitsu as opposed to printed, were commissioned for private enjoyment and are far rarer than woodblock sheets. This one is unusually large: the painting alone is about 39 by 53 cm. It was painted around the early Meiji period and mounted as a kakejiku somewhat later.
The painter works in the refined manner of the late ukiyo-e school. The faces are drawn with a fine, even line; the man's grey striped robe and the woman's lavender kimono are patterned stroke by stroke, and the screen behind them carries ink grasses, a small landscape and a potted plant. A lacquered box glows yellow at the edge of the room. It is an intimate scene treated with the seriousness of a bijinga, the painting of beautiful women.
Details
- Format: Kakejiku (hanging scroll)
- Artist: Unknown, unsigned
- Period: Early Meiji period, mounted later
- Medium: Ink and colour, painted by hand
- Painting: About 39 x 53 cm (15.4 x 20.9 in)
- Whole scroll: About 134 x 67 cm (52.8 x 26.4 in)
- Mount: Pale green fabric with striped and gold brocade borders
- Roller ends: Red lacquer
- Box: Wooden storage box
Measured by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 1 cm (0.4 in).
Condition
- Some soiling to the reverse of the mount.
- No notable marks on the front of the painting.
- Small discs seen on two details were placed for discretion during photography and are not part of the work.
Condition grade B (very good) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Offered as a hand-painted work of the early Meiji period by an unidentified painter; the dating is given as recorded and is not independently certified. Hang for short periods away from sun and damp, and roll loosely from the bottom when storing.
Delivery from Japan
The scroll travels rolled in its wooden box, wrapped and cushioned in a rigid outer carton, insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything you wish to know before you buy, and see our published policy.
Considered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally. Further pieces of the kind are kept in Shunga and Hidden Arts and among our Japanese scrolls and screens.
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Collectors also search: nikuhitsu shunga scroll · Meiji erotic painting · antique kakejiku shunga
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