This item is no longer available, however we buy Meiji embroidery as often as possible. Please check the latest textiles here, or sign up for the newsletter to be the first to hear about new Japanese textiles when they arrive.
 
Large, highly decorative embroidery from Meiji Japan. Inclusive of frame, 131cm x 67cm.
 
Relatively unknown today, the textile artists of Meiji Japan represent the absolute pinnacle of the artform, their achievements have not been surpassed before or since. They are long overdue much wider recognition.
 
This was most likely part of a larger screen originally, (we have a matching panel) we think it was removed and framed around 1910 looking at the style of frame. These superb textiles, once Japans largest export, are very rare today. Unsurpisingly, the Bronzes and Okimono this period is most famous for today have handled the passage of time much better than perishable silk.
 
This piece, having been behind glass for at least the last 100 years is a rare survivor: the embroidery itself is utterly perfect, without a stitch missing or out of place.
 
Years of sunshine have left the silk ground with a wonderful ombre effect, with colours ranging from deep purple to gold. The scene, of Pheasants among Wisteria, is picked out in a beautiful, subtle range of gold and cream silks.
 
The frame is in good solid condition, the paintwork is scuffed in places with the previous colour, gold, visible. We have decided to leave this as found as part of the history of the piece. The back of the frame is covered with a canvas cloth which has rips. There are traces of mold, now dormant, see images (bottom right on the silk ground, upper middle among the Wisteria).