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Calligraphy Flower

Kakemono, unique work, 91 x 50 cm
Product number: 3732

Sold – no longer available

This piece was a handmade 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 91 cm
  • Width 50 cm
  • Item Type Kakemono
  • Jikusaki Sculpture
  • Material Honshi Paper
  • Period of Creation Shôwa (1926–1989)
  • Technique Hand-Painted
  • Unique Work Yes
Sold

No longer available

Description

A single character, flower, fills almost the entire pictorial surface here and thereby becomes an independent pictorial motif in its own right. In a very free, flowing stroke style, the calligrapher joins the individual brushstrokes into a sweeping, almost abstract form, whose lower curve is reminiscent of an opening blossom – an appealing fusion of meaning and form.

A small red seal in the upper right and another, stamped seal at the lower left next to the signature frame the composition. Scattered fine age spots in the paper lend the sheet a warm, time-worn character. The nearly square pictorial surface deliberately departs from the usual vertical format of calligraphy compositions and draws the eye entirely to the dynamism of the single character.

The paper sheet is mounted in a jade-green silk border with a golden leaf and blossom vine pattern, created in the Shôwa period. Single-character calligraphies like this one are considered a particular challenge among connoisseurs, since the expression must be concentrated entirely into a single brushstroke, making this hanging scroll a focused yet striking eye-catcher.

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?.