ARTIST : Kato Eishu (1873-1939) first studied under Okumura Sekiran, then with Kono Bairei at the Kyoto Municipal School of Fine Arts. On Bairei's death he became a pupil of Kishi Chikudo and finally of Takeuchi Seiho. He was a regular exhibitor with the Bunten and Teiten, becoming a member of the Teiten in 1928. See Roberts p.70.
AGE : Circa 1920
SIZE : Each screen measures 74 inches across and stands 67 inches high.
DESCRIPTION : A magnificently detailed pair of kacho-e screens by Kato Eishu depicting the highly unusual subject matter of bird netting songbirds. Historically the art of bird netting was a privilege and pleasure of royalty and nobility. In the latter half of the 19th century restrictions were significantly eased and netting became widely practiced. In the small wooden cage in the painting is a male decoy who's signing soon attracts other birds of the same species who find themselves entangled in the fine nets spread amongst the bamboo thickets.
TECHNIQUE : The scene has been painted with ink, gofun and pigments on paper covered with gold leaf.
CONDITION : The screens are in very good condition with no scratches or abrasions whatsoever. There is some evidence of the paper being crimped at the outer corners and slight losses of gold there.
