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The Hare in the Grass

Kakemono, unique work, 200 x 60 cm
Product number: 3463

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 200 cm
  • Width 60 cm
  • Item Type Kakemono
  • Jikusaki Wood
  • Material Honshi Paper
  • Period of Creation Shôwa (1926–1989)
  • Technique Hand-Painted
  • Unique Work Yes
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No longer available

Description

A hare sniffs curiously among grasses and autumnal chrysanthemum branches, ears raised, one paw slightly lifted. The fine rendering of the fur, with its countless carefully placed brush hairs, stands in charming contrast to the delicate blossoms in lighter tones that push into the scene from above.

In the East Asian pictorial tradition, the hare is regarded as a symbol of vigilance, fertility, and a long, happy life, and is often depicted together with autumnal plants such as chrysanthemums, which themselves stand for longevity and constancy. The combination of both motifs lends the image a warm, friendly overall mood.

The kakemono was hand-painted on paper during the Shôwa period and is fitted with wooden jikusaki. The naturalistic yet playful manner of depiction reveals the practiced hand of an artist familiar with animal and plant painting. As a unique work, this hanging scroll brings a light, buoyant note to any collection of traditional Japanese painting.

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?.