An evocative six-panel folding screen depicting depicting an autumnal mountain landscape in the - Paper, Wood - Japan - Edo period (second half of 18th century)

An evocative Japanese six-panel folding screen, painted in natural pigments on paper with gold dust, depicting an autumnal mountain landscape in the yamato-e tradition. The scene is crossed by a broad waterway, along which stands a wooden pavilion built on stilts.

The pavilion, nestled among pine trees and maples with vibrant red foliage, overlooks the water, while rolling green hills, mountains and the moon partially veiled in mist recede into the distance. An arched wooden bridge extends across the lower right. The surface of the river is animated by delicate, curving lines suggesting the movement of the current, which carries fallen maple leaves downstream.

The scene can be identified with Hashihime (The Maiden of the Bridge), chapter 45 of The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early eleventh century. It depicts Kaoru visiting the residence of the Eighth Prince in Uji, where he is drawn by the sound of music and secretly observes the prince's two daughters, Ōigimi and Nakanokimi, playing the koto and biwa. The episode is also represented in the celebrated twelfth-century Genji Monogatari Emaki, preserved at the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya.

The drifting maple leaves evoke the fleeting nature of beauty, the changing seasons and the passage of time. Their vivid colours, preserved for a brief moment before being carried away by the current, reflect the Japanese poetic sensibility of mono no aware, an awareness of the transience of all things and the gentle melancholy associated with their passing. Deeply rooted in the literary world of The Tale of Genji, this aesthetic sensibility lends the landscape a contemplative dimension beyond its narrative subject.

The screen is finished with silk borders and a lacquered wooden frame.

Byōbu (屏風), literally “wind protection screens,” are traditional Japanese folding screens originally created to divide spaces and today appreciated above all as striking wall-mounted paintings.

---The byobu is in good condition, with minor wear and small restorations to the paper, consistent with age. Wear to the lacquered frame. Please refer to the pictures for further details.

The item will be carefully packed and shipped accompanied by the original certificate of authenticity issued by Mastromauro Japanese art gallery based in Milan, Italy.
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