Large screen on gold mountain village

Intriguing large six-panel byôbu 屏風 (folding screen) with a detailed genre painting on goldish silver leaf with different scenes of people at work in a rural mountain village during the Edo period.

On the right farmers wearing large straw hats are opening dams to flood the rice paddies. One of their colleagues just arrived with a tea kettle and lunch for the hardworking group.
In the centre a row of rice bundles are hung to dry, surrounded by an ingenious mechanism called naruko 鳴子 to scare the birds away. A batch that was already dry enough is being sifted and stored by a group of farmers.
And on the left, behind a large pine tree 松 (matsu) we have a peek inside the kitchen of a large thatched traditional house where woman are processing, maybe grinding, the stored rice.

The different scenes are surrounded by dense silver leaf clouds with a translucent golden finish. Silver leaf continuously undergoes the process of oxidation, which creates a beautiful aged patina. The panels are mounted by two silk borders, a thin navy blue brocade one, and a broad brown brocade one. Protected by a red lacquer wooden frame with its original hardware.

It is in a good condition with some traces of age, wear and old restorations, like two small imperfections at the top of the first two panels and some re-papering of the back. Please look at the photos for a condition reference.

Dimensions:
Total width: 373.8 cm (2 x 63.7 cm, 4 x 61.6 cm); Height: 172.3 cm.
Period: Japan – Late Meiji period/Taishô period (First quarter 20th century).

This room divider is light in weight and can be easily mounted flat on a wall and presented as one piece of art.

When shipped we will add a certificate of authenticity.