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Carp in Water

Kakemono, unique work, with box, 140 x 90 cm
Product number: 5721

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 140 cm
  • Width 90 cm
  • Item Type Kakemono
  • Jikusaki Wood
  • Material Honshi Silk
  • Period of Creation Shôwa (1926–1989)
  • Technique Hand-Painted
  • Unique Work Yes
  • Wooden Box Yes
Sold

No longer available

Description

In soft tones of gray and brown, a powerful carp glides through flowing water, while in the background the branches of a maple tree frame the picture. In Japanese pictorial language, the fish has long been regarded as a symbol of perseverance and success, as it pushes against the current – a popular motif in traditional kakemono painting. Next to the depiction is a handwritten line of poetry that lends the picture a poetic note, as well as a red artist's seal.

The painting is executed in muted colors on fine silk and dates from the Shôwa period. The tranquil composition, with its gently rippling water and only suggested bank vegetation, creates a meditative mood characteristic of classical Japanese ink painting.

The hanging scroll is delivered including a matching wooden box, in which it is traditionally stored and transported. For collectors of Japanese painting, this work is an evocative addition that convinces both through its motif and through its careful execution.

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?.