JPY 2,000,000

Asian Art

artist

Masamitsu

materials

Lacquer, gold maki-e, mother-of-pearl, natural shell, bamboo

dimensions

44.3cm Height: 30.5cm Length: 11.4cm Wide

This elegant table screen is enclosed within a bamboo-form frame and decorated on both sides with contrasting compositions, combining decorative richness with refined artistic taste. Originally intended for the scholar‘s desk, it also serves as an impressive work of interior decorative art. The front is set against a luminous gold ground depicting a tranquil garden with a distant pavilion, blossoming trees, flowering plants, and graceful birds gathered around an ornamental lantern. Finely executed Shibayama inlay employing mother-of-pearl and other natural shell materials creates remarkable depth and brilliance. The feathers of the birds, delicate blossoms, foliage, and rocky outcrops are rendered with exceptional precision, while the natural iridescence of the shell subtly changes with the light, enriching the composition with remarkable vitality. The reverse presents a striking contrast, featuring refined gold maki-e on a deep black lacquer ground. Two elegant herons stand beside a gently flowing stream amid autumn grasses and flowering plants. Softly rendered water, drifting mist, and generous areas of negative space create a quiet, poetic atmosphere, reflecting the understated elegance characteristic of Japanese aesthetics.