Owl on a Pine Branch
Sold – no longer available
This piece was handmade by Harukan Ohata 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 198 cm
- Width 44 cm
- Item Type Kakemono
- Jikusaki Bone
- Material Honshi Paper
- Period of Creation Meiji (1868–1912)
- Technique Hand-Painted
- Unique Work Yes
- Wooden Box Yes
No longer available
Description
In Japanese pictorial language, the owl is regarded as a symbol of wisdom and vigilance in the darkness, and it is precisely this quiet alertness that this finely executed hanging scroll conveys. Perched on a gnarled pine branch, the bird sits with raised feather tufts and watchful golden-brown eyes, while delicate needle-covered branches are suggested in the background. The shimmering shades of brown in the plumage are worked out with fine brushstrokes, so that the texture of the feathers becomes almost tangible.
The calm, almost meditative composition on a shimmering silk ground makes the owl seem to emerge from the darkness and lends the image a quiet, mysterious tension typical of the bird-and-flower painting of the Meiji period.
The hanging scroll bears the signature or seal of Harukan Ohata and comes with a specially signed wooden box that further documents the work's provenance. The painting on paper rests on roller ends made of bone. An exceptional unique work for collectors of Japanese antiques and lovers of natural history motifs.
