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Bamboo before the Pale Moon Disc

Kakemono, unique work, 183 x 52 cm
Product number: 6206

Sold – no longer available

This piece was handmade by Kano Shunobu and was a one-of-a-kind work. It cannot be reordered and will never exist in this form again. The page stays online as part of our archive.

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Details about the sold piece

  • Height 183 cm
  • Width 52 cm
  • Item Type Kakemono
  • Jikusaki Wood
  • Material Honshi Silk
  • Period of Creation Meiji (1868–1912)
  • Technique Hand-Painted
  • Unique Work Yes
Signature / Stamp:
Kano Shunobu
Sold

No longer available

Description

A slender bamboo stalk rises before a palely shimmering moon disc – with a few, confidently placed brushstrokes in finely graduated ink tones, this hanging scroll captures a quiet moment of nature. The restrained, almost monochrome coloring leaves ample room for the emptiness of the paper and lends the composition a meditative calm characteristic of classical ink painting.

In Japanese visual language, bamboo is among the most popular motifs, as it stands for flexibility, endurance, and inner steadiness without appearing rigid. The hanging scroll bears the signature and seal of the painter Kano Shunobu and was created in the Meiji period; painted on silk, it is finished with a jikusaki of wood, which lends the work a traditional, refined frame.

Because the mounting is made of a delicate secondary fabric due to its age, the hanging scroll should be handled with particular care when hanging and rolling it up, to avoid damage. Anyone who is drawn to the quiet poetry of classical Japanese ink painting will find in this unique work a restrained yet effective testament to a bygone craftsmanship.

Frequently asked

No – as a one-of-a-kind piece it exists in a single example only.
We would be glad to look for one. Get in touch with the details of the object you are looking for and we will see what we can do.
Because the two pieces of information speak about different things: the period designation describes the object – support, colors, condition – while the signature reflects which name appears on the painting. In most cases there is no attempt at deception behind this, but rather Japanese painting training: copying from workshop models was the curriculum for centuries, an utsushi is regarded as a bow to the teacher, workshops signed with the master's name, and artist names were passed down within a school. Such a hanging scroll is therefore not a forgery, but a hand-painted one-of-a-kind that continues the formal language of its school – just not the work of the famous name, and priced accordingly. We explain this in detail in the guide Why does a kakemono often bear the signature of an artist long deceased?.