JAPANESE HANGING SCROLL:Antique \"Prowling Tiger\"Kano-ha, 1700\'s, Edo Period

This is a very charming Hanging Scroll with a wonderful painting on paper by a Kano-ha artist. I believe the painting dates to the 1700\'s. Themounting may be original.

The artist has given us a powerful image of a Tiger prowling and watching intently for possible prey so close to the picture frame that it seems that the viewer may be his next victim. However, this tiger seems so cheerful, that the danger may be minimal.

The Kano school is one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting. It was founded by Kano Masanobu (1434-1530), a contemporary of Sesshu and student of Shubun.

Kano painters often composed very flat pictures, but they balanced impeccably detailed realistic depictions of animals and other subjects in the foreground with abstract, often entirely blank backgrounds elements. The use of negative space to indicate distance, and to imply mist, clouds, sky or sea is drawn from traditional Chinese modes and is used beautifully by the Kano artists.

This is precisely what we have in this painting: a beautifully executed representation of a Tiger and nothing else. The rest of the picture planeleft entirely blank to imply the space in which the tiger lurks.

In the present painting, the artist does his best to give us a convincing representation of a fierce Tiger, glaring andready to springat a possible prey.But Tigers are notindigenous to Japan, and this artist wasworking well before the time that his island nation opened to the rest of the world in the mid 1800\'s. So it is highly unlikely that he ever actually saw a Tiger. But he and other Japanese artists of his time were fascinated by this fearful predators and made many paintings of them. But the only actual information they had at their command were tales of Portuguese traders who were allowed to trade with Japanat this time and perhaps a pelt which they brought with them.

The artist has the distinctive striped coat of his Tiger, but he has no knowledge of the skeletal and muscular structure of the beast. And so his Tiger\'s physiognomy and physique are a little fanciful. The Tiger\'s face looks more like an inquisitive house cat than a fearful jungle predator

Thesecurious and charmingconsiderations aside, the artist shows his true mastery both in the bold composition,his superb painting technique and use of delicately balanced limited palette. This is a most excellent painting and a very good example of his aesthetic inclinations and his technical prowess.

This scroll measures 49 inches long and 24 inches wide, not including the roller ends which are of red lacquered wood.Considering its more than 314 or so years of life the painting is in remarkably good condition, with no serious damage at all. There are a number of wrinkles but they do not damage either the physical or aestheticqualities of the image itself.And as my 99-year-old mother used to say, \"They are the bona fides of a long life well lived\'\"

The mounting has some damage at the top, but I believe itis original to the painting and worth conserving.

Altogether, this is a most handsome an unusual scroll and the photos give a very good idea of its power and beauty. with its painting on paper by a Kano-ha artist from the 1700\'s in the Edo Period.

If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

And Thanks for looking.

This scroll is more than 314 or so years old and has passed through many difficult times including two World Wars, the Second of which was disastrous for its native country. For an unframed work on such a delicate support as paper, it is remarkable that it has survived at all, let alone in such good condition. But this scroll and similar works of art are not in absolutely perfect condition and they frequently show evidence of their long life. I endeavor to point out if and where there may be any damage, but the photographs tell the whole story. Please examine them carefully. If you are looking for something with absolutely no signs of age, I am afraid you will have to look elsewhere. In short, these beautiful scrolls were not born yesterday.

I indicate the artist\'s name based on a signature and/or seal and also the style, but occasionally a scroll may be a copy of a work by a famous painter. In the present case, I am unable to identify the artist.

Due to limitations of photography and the inevitable differences in monitor settings, the color of the pictures on your monitor may be slightly different from the scroll itself, but I did my best to capture it as it is. And, at least on my monitor, the color is a very good match.

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I would be more than happy to answer any question you might have.

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