Studio: international art (72.1918)

Studio- Talk

ters in four lines of calligraphy, was
sold for 17,000 yen. Considering the
fact that in feudal times human lives
were sacrificed when one of these
sheets was lost from the godown of
a feudal lord, the amount now paid
is by no means too big. Neverthe-
less, it is an exorbitant price, which
only one of the Japanese millionaires
created by the present European war
could afford to pay.

RED LACQUER CABINET
[Soldfor 3608 yen in Viscount Akimoto’s sale)

eight paintings was sold for 140,000 yen, a
result which created considerable talk in Japan.
The next highest sum was paid for a makimono
(roll) named Eiga Monogatari (a story of
prosperous life) by Nobuzane, with illustrations
and handwritten text alternating. This roll
was sold for 116,000 yen. A small piece of
paper with the handwriting of Sadaiye, known
as “ Ogura Shikishi,” having thirty-one charac-

Most of the paintings offered in the
sale were badly soiled and obliterated
by time. Nevertheless, they revealed
the great personalities of the ancient
masters. Among the best works by
Japanese masters was the Waterfall
by Motonobu, which fetched 86,000
yen. It is one of Motonobu’s master-
pieces. The weight and strength of
the falling water, the turbulence at
the basin in contrast with the hard and
jagged rocks that stubbornly resist the im-
pact of the water, are excellently rendered.
Another good work was Masanobu’s Kokei
Sansho (the three laughing sages of Kokei) in a
pair of kakemono. This is one of the most
favourite subjects for our artists, but generally
it is treated in the form of landscape-painting,
in which the figures are subordinated to nature.

40

THREE OF THE “EIGHT SCENES OF SHOSHO” BY KEISHOKI

(Complete set sold for 140,000 yen at Viscowit Akimoto’s sale)