ARTIST : The signature reads Tosen me, with the 'me' meaning woman. We have been unable to trace her although almost certainly she would have been a part of the Kyoto or Osaka groups of women painters who were active in the early 20th century and specialized in paintings of beautiful ladies.
AGE : Taisho era (1912-1926)
SIZE : The screen stands 34 inches high and measures 46 inches across.
DESCRIPTION : A small two-fold screen depicting an early evening scene of a bijin or beautiful lady lighting a hanging oil lamp. Her hand is sheltering the flame as she prepares to place it inside the iron lantern. Her kimono is decorated with a bold dragonfly design symbolic of summer and her elaborately set hair indicates that she is employed within the floating world.
TECHNIQUE : The image has been painted on silk with ink, pigments and gofun.
CONDITION : It has been quite recently remounted. The pigments are in very good condition and the silk supple although the open areas in the lower fields are a little dirty. One small and light puncture is present in the lower left field.
