Low screen with poets

An intriguing low and wide two-panel furosaki’byôbu 風炉先屏風 (tea-ceremony room divider) mounted with four cut-outs of painted portraits depicting two of the ‘Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry ‘ 三十六歌仙 (Sanjûrokkasen) accompanied by one of their waka poems in calligraphy.

The poet on the right is Fujiwara no Toshiyuki 藤原敏行 (?-901/907), wearing a purple kimono and is seated face-forward and surrounded by pine trees.
The poet on the left is Minamoto no Muneyuki Ason 源宗宗于朝臣 (?-939), wearing a blue striped kimono and is sitting with his back towards us, he is seated in a field of chrysanthemums 菊 (kiku).
Both paintings are illegible sealed by the same artists.

The four pieces are mounted on a gold speckled paper background which is protected by a red lacquered wooden frame.

Dimensions:
Total width 169 cm (2 x 84.5 cm), Height 45.7 cm.

The paintings and calligraphy date from the late Edo period (First half 19th century), and the screen dates from the Taishô period (1912-1926).

The paintings are in a very good condition with some to be expected traces of wear conform age, and a few small old restorations. The screen itself is in a very good condition with some traces of wear (on the back). Please look at the photos for a condition reference.

In Japan such screens are often used as a background for example vases with ikebana arrangements or other, in this case traditional tea ceremony objects.

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

The Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry are a group of Japanese poets of the Asuka, Nara, and Heian periods selected by Fujiwara no Kintō as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability. The oldest surviving collection of the 36 poets’ works is Nishi Honganji Sanju-rokunin Kashu (“Nishi Honganji 36 poets collection”) of 1113. (From Wikipedia)

When shipped we will add a certificate of authenticity.