Beschreibung:

SHIBATA ZESHIN 柴田是真 (1807–1891) SET OF TANZAKU (POEM-CARDS) WITH DESIGNS FOR THE TWELVE MONTHS 月次絵短冊 Meiji era (1868–1912), circa 1870–1890 Ink, colours, and gold on silk mounted on thin card, with a gold-painted border; for signatures and seals, please refer to the individual descriptions below 36.0cm × 6.3cm (14⅛in × 2½in) each With fitted wood storage box inscribed outside Tanzaku jūnikagetsu たんざく　十二ヶ月 (Tanzaku for the twelve months); inscribed inside Hachijūgo-ō Tairyūkyo Zeshin 八十五翁　対柳居是真 (Tairyūkyo Zeshin, aged 85); stencil-dyed cotton slipcase (14) Provenance: Yamauchi Collection (Kōsetsusai) 山内家（香雪斎）旧藏 Tōkyō Bijutsu Kurabu (Tokyo Arts Club) April 1926, lot 87 Sold in these Rooms, 5 November 2014, lot 8 Fußnoten Zeshin loved to create sets of paintings or lacquers on the theme of the twelve months, each of them with a different selection of designs, including time-honoured motifs dating back many centuries as well as more recent festivals and customs. Among the best known are a set of twelve inrō in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Gōke 1981b, pl. 61–72); a set of twelve zodiac-animal plaques in the Burke Collection (Gōke 1981b, pl. 103–115); a set of twelve paintings in the Khalili Collection, similar to this one in size and style but with different motifs, dating from circa 1884 (Earle and Gōke 1996, cat. no. 100); another set of the same size in Itabashi Art Museum (Yasumura, 2009, cat. no. J-40); another set in a private collection (Gōke 1981b, pl. 285–296); and three further sets reproduced in early posthumous exhibition catalogues (Shioda 1908 and Shibata 1912, both unpaginated). [7.1] First Month 正月　手まり Two itomari or temari (balls made from silk thread); signed Zeshin 是真 with seal Tairyūkyo 対柳居 With paper wrapper inscribed Shōgatsu temari (First month, silk balls) Itomari or temari (balls made from silk thread) were a favourite children's gift at New Year. Zeshin often depicted two of them, one slightly larger than the other, to symbolize the many festivities that mark the first month. For two examples in lacquer, see Nezu Bijutsukan 2012, cat. nos. 2 and 4. [7.2] Second Month 二月　梅 Three figures with large straw hats in a shower of rain, one wearing a straw raincoat, another holding branches of plum; signed Zeshin 是真 with seal Reisai 令哉 With paper wrapper inscribed Nigatsu ume (Second month, plum) Associated with the coming of spring, plum blossoms were—and still are—celebrated during the second month at several shrine festivals held in and around Edo/Tokyo. [7.3] Third Month 三月　ひいな Two dolls with shells; signed Zeshin 是真 with seal Hanken 半縣 With paper wrapper inscribed Sangatsu hiina (Third month, dolls) Tachibina or tatebina, paired male and female dolls manufactured from paper or fabric, were made for Hinamatsuri (the Girls' Festival) that took place on the third day of the third lunar month. One of Zeshin's favourite subjects, they are seen on many of his lacquers: a well-known example is a suzuribako (box for writing utensils) in the Khalili Collection (Earle and Gōke 1996, cat. no. 5). The seal Hanken, not often seen after Zeshin's signature, may also be found on a painting of a rustic scene in the Khalili Collection (Earle and Gōke 1996, cat. no. 96) and on a painting of leaves and wild grasses reproduced in Link 1979, cat. no. 43. [7.4] Fourth Month 四月　ほととぎす A hototogisu (lesser cuckoo, Cuculus poliocephalus) flying over rice paddies with Shinto offerings, a willow tree to the left; signed Zeshin 是真 with seal Koma 古満 With paper wrapper inscribed Shigatsu hototogisu (Fourth month, cuckoo) A long-established symbol of late spring, the hototogisu is here shown flying over freshly planted paddy fields. Zeshin depicted the same book-shaped paper offering in a panel he created in 1882 and explained the motif in a lecture he gave in 1887 (Earle and Gōke 1996, cat. no. 27). [7.5] Fifth Month 五月　菖蒲 A rustic hut with a flowering stem of iris thrust into its thatched roof, a water buffalo visible through the hut's w