Vintage Chinese Folding Screen with Birds and Bamboo, Signed
$349.00
A vivid painting of birds flitting amongst a bamboo forest on this Japanese style 4-panel byobu.
Stock Available 1
Description
This is an elegant Japanese style 4-panel folding screen perfect for autumnal displays. Green and black birds flit amongst bamboo branches and orange hued leaves. Poem and artist seals on far right panel.
Size: 59”L x 35”H; folded 14.75”W x 3”D.
Condition notes: hinges sound; some scattered small stains and smudges; lower left corner and fabric border are misaligned.
The folding screen was invented in China during the Han dynasty, but further developed by the Japanese who made it lighter, using paper and fabric, and more functional. In Japan it became an everyday objects used to block drafts, give privacy, and decorate a room. The Japanese painted naturalistic subjects and seasonal motifs on most of their screens to bring the outdoors inside. Trees, birds, snow, and flowers are some of the most popular designs.
The Asian screen is read from right to left and typically crafted in even number panels: 2, 4 ( although less in Japanese culture), 6, and 8. A lattice structure of wooden slats and layer upon layer of Japanese paper give the screens strength and flexibility allowing for the unique hinged folding method. The Japanese byobu was re-adopted by the Chinese as a popular export in the 1950s-1980s.
