No.72

DECEMBER 1937

This summary is compiled by Mr. TAKASHI KATSUKI.

WOODEN CRANES AND SNAKES DECORATED WITH LACQUER

BY PROF. SUEJI UMEHARA AND SEIICHI MIZUNO

Increasing enthusiasm in Europe and America for Chinese ancient art in recent years accelerated the excavations in China and the discoveries of the relics involved have been related from time to time. The present sculpture is said to have been discovered in an old tomb around Chang-sha in Ho-nan Province.

This (Pl. V) is an example of such rarity that no similar work has been known so far. The two cranes which are exceptionally tall (136 cm.) stand face to face on a base carved in the form of two intertwined snakes of a single block of wood. On either side of the base square holes are prepared into which the cranes fit by means of tenons (Pl. VII, A).

One of the two snakes is decorated entirely with a scale design and the other with a kind of all-over swirl pattern. The designs are painted in red lacquer and yellow ochre, the latter lining the former on the black lacquer ground. In the scale design red and yellow are used alternately while in the swirl-like pattern yellow ochre is only applied along the edges of the design (Cut on p. 2). The swirl-like motive, however, is often found inlaid on art objects produced between the Chan-kuo and Han Periods. The design is simple but powerful resembling somewhat the Hui-lung pattern of the ancient mirror.

The pair of cranes are made in exactly the same way, the only difference being in the pattern. The neck and body including the legs are carved of a single block of wood while the head, one wing and the train are detachable (Pl. VII, B).

Examination of the decoration of the crane seen on the right side of Plate V reveals the head painted simply in red lacquer, the long neck including the body decorated with time-worn sections of various designs-the scale design, the combination of bird and Hui-lung, the repetition of the scale and swirl motives-which are painted in red and probably yellow lacquer over the black lacquer ground. The other on the left side is also painted in red and perhaps yellow lacquer but there is less variation compared to the former-the swirl which has almost entirely disappeared, the scale and the swirl-like patterns.

The upper-half of the legs of both cranes are decorated with the scale pattern and wings and trains with a feather design. The difference in the swirl-like pattern applied both to the snake-shaped base and cranes is that it takes the form of square units on the base (Cut. b, on p. 2) which elongate on the cranes (Cut. a, on p. 2). Furthermore, as seen on Plate VI, B, one crane has been repaired.

Such is the general state of the present sculpture but as we have no similar extant example it is difficult to set the date of the production. It is considered that the realistic representation of animal and bird figures in Chinese art did not come into existence before the Han Period. However, we come across older examples with figures of animal and bird among various collections, indicating that their origin is far older than the Han Period and even among those of the Chan-kuo Period we see some of the same.

One of the important examples discovered in Hsin-cheng, Ho-nan Province is a pot decorated with the P'anch'ih and Hui-lung designs and the lid surmounted by a standing crane. The designs are highly conventionalized but the crane figure is made realistically (Osvald Siren: Histoire des arts anciens de la Chine, Vol., I Pl. 56 A).

As for the snake the ancient bronze mirrors bearing the Hui-lung pattern as shown in Plate XXXII, etc., in A Study of the Pre-Han Mirrors, by Prof. Sueji Umehara, in the coiled bronze sanke of Plate XXV in The Tombs of Old Lo-yang, by W. C. White, and in a bronze paper weight (Cut on p. 4) are all considered to have been produced before the Han Period.

Judging from these examples the present sculpture is also thought to belong to the same group excavated at Hsin-cheng and Lo-yang, Ho-nan Province.

For what purpose was the present sculpture made? Alone, it is considered a complete and independent object and also as a kind of ornamental article. Furthermore, judging from the fact that the present sculpture was undoubtedly kept in a tomb we are led to suppose that it might have served the purpose of exorcism. However, no definite conclusion, of course, can be drawn until the discovery of a similar work in the future.

STUDIES ON THE BIOGRAPHY OF KAISEKI NORO (PART II)

BY SENZO MORI

There remains "A Hermitage" (Kokka, No. 390) by Kaiseki which was painted in the third year of Bunka (1806) in which the dexterous handling of the subject matter both in technique and composition is shown and for which he deserves to be regarded as an unusual artist among those who belonged to the Bunjinga School or the School of Literary Men's Painting. On the other hand, his assiduous attitude as an artist is also attested to by the fact that Kaiseki copied a painting by Huang Ta-ch'ih, a famous painter of Yuan China, eleven times, according to an old document concerning his life in which this is mentioned for the year 1810.

He was visited by Chikuden, one of the widely-known artists of the day of the same School, the next year. In the same year Kaiseki painted "A Landscape in Spring" (Kokka, No. 453). In this unpretentious work the beautiful natural scenery in spring is well represented in the characteristic manner of the Bunjinga School. The fame of Kaiseki became greater and greater and his work was admired even by his provincial lord who presented him a verse of a poem written by himself in the second year of Bunsei (1819), from which the brush name Shihekisai was derived. After that his works were signed Shihekisai. The provincial lord also acknowledged Kaiseki's service in the mining and agricultural industries and his earnings were increased.

In a letter by San-yo, a prominent poet-scholar of the day, addressed to his friend in the third year of Bunsei (1820) he mentioned that Kaiseki had asked to see his work. However, judging from a letter of his friend to another friend it seems that San-yo first wrote Kaiseki expressing a desire to see the latter's work. San-yo was pleased at the request of Kaiseki. And San-yo visited Kaiseki later in Wakayama in the eighth year of Bunsei (1825) when the latter was at the age of seventy-eight. This fact proves how well known Kaiseki was in spite of the fact that he was a local painter.

SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN THE CONNOISSEURSHIP OF FAR EASTERN ARTS

BY KATSU NAKANE

Scientific methods now employed in art connoisseurship have proved to be quite helpful abroad. Utilizing the opportunity of being connected with the Institute of Art Research the present writer discloses here his own experiments in the field of Far Eastern Arts. The methods taken by the writer are ultra-red photography, luminography, X-ray photography and photomicrography which were applied to various kinds of art objects.

The first to be mentioned is ultra-red photography. Cut 1 on page nineteen is an ordinary photograph illustrating a part of a Korean painting done in India ink. The state of the preservation of this picture is to be deplored and the artist's seal has faded so that the deciphering of the characters was hopeless. But the peculiar nature of the ultra-red photographic dry-plate which is extremely sensitive to reddish color brought the time- worn seal into the light and enabled us to read it as it is Yi Sang-chwa (Cut on p. 19).

Next shown in Plate VIII, I, is a part of Cintamanicakra (Cut on p. 20) reproduced by ordinary photography. This picture is painted in color on silk and is considered to have been produced in the Ashikaga Period. The color has turned so dark that the linear statement of the picture is hardly discernible but the ultra-red photograph (Pl. VIII, II) reveals, particularly, waves painted in India ink.

However, the most remarkable result of the use of ultra-red photography is shown in Plate IX, II. Here is a picture of a Buddhistic figure painted in color on the lacquered ground of a wooden door. This satisfactory result was probably due to the fact that the medium-a mixture of glue and oil or oil and lacquer-used with color served the purpose of protecting the color in the form of a film although the general surface has been badly affected in the course of time as seen in the ordinary photograph (Pl. IX, I).

Experiments on wooden sculptures are shown in Plate X, A & B. One is the head of Bhaisajyaguru and the other is of an Eleven-headed Avalokitesvara. The former likewise to our eyes was darkened but in the ultra-red photograph we find that the pupils of the eyes, eye brows and mustache were drawn in India ink (P1. X, A, II). The same is also true of the latter (Pl. X, B, II & Cut on p. 22 II). The hair dress of the Bhaisajyaguru has turned black in the ultra-red photograph possibly due to the ultramarine pigment painted over it. The Eleven-headed Avalokitesvara is recognized as the oldest extant example of this kind. However, a point which has long been under discussion is whether the present statue was ever completed.

Experiment by ultra-red photography is not, of course, limited to those cases just mentioned; however, the purpose and nature of ultra-red photography must be understood before experimentation can be undertaken.

Plate XI, II are photographs of an ancient Chinese mirror excavated at Lo-yang of Ho-nan Province, China. The mirror is embelished with designs painted in color. White spots on the dark ground of the mirror as reproduced in the luminographs seem to have been caused by the different ingredients of which the pigments are composed. In the writer's estimation these white spots are the parts repaired after being dug up. He also applied the method of luminography to old paintings but no conclusion can be drawn until further experiments have been made.

Under ultra-violet rays stone gives out different kinds of fluoresence according to the nature of the stone but if the stone is the same the surface which has been exposed to the elements and the newly cut section will not give the same result. In Plate XII, C, II illustrating a Chinese stone sculpture of a Bodhisattva dated 442 the original part is revealed as dark, the later addition as light. The repainted part of the designs on the pottery knob of a bridge-post (Pl. XII, B, II) is also indicated in white under ultra-violet rays especially on the middle section of the post.

Another luminograph (Pl. XII, A, II) is a clay figure which is slightly glazed in tri-color. As seen in the ordinary photograph (Pl. XII, A, I) the figure carries a fan in the right-hand. The fan, however, has turned white in the luminograph showing that the fan was repaired.

Examination by means of X-rays is most effective for pigments which are composed of minerals. However, X-rays are least effective for organic pigments, most of which were produced after the discoveries of the artificial dyes-mauvein-by W. H. Perkin in 1856. Therefore, if there is an oil painting which was painted before 1856 and repaired later the places which have been subject to repair will easily be located by X-rays.

The pigments employed in Far Eastern painting are very thin compared with those in oil painting, India ink especially being an important medium. Under these circumstances, unfortunately, X-ray photography has done very little so far. Plate XIII, II reveals that a wooden frame work wrapped with straw has been set inside this clay figure. Cuts on page twenty-seven are X-ray photographs of a wooden sculpture in which two nails are distinctly shown. Judging from the shape of the nails it is considered that the repair must have been done not long ago.

The last to be mentioned is photomicrography. Examples shown in Plate XIV are the fragments of various kinds of old silk and they are magnified twenty times. In this experiment the development in the making of silk for old paintings can be traced.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES

Pl. I (Color) & II Pine Trees and Hawks.

Color on paper. Detail. Mounted as a pair of six-fold screens.

Height: 160.6 cm.; width:. 360 cm., each.

The Imperial School of Art, Tokyo.

The present screens are masterpieces representing the typical style and atmospheric qualities of painting of this kind in the Momoyama Period. As seen in the illustrations (Pls. I & II) the gorgeous color harmony against a gold ground is most successful. The pair of hawks, the age-old pine trees, rocks, mountains and thickly gathered clouds lend a real majestic atmosphere to the whole composition.

There occurs the fact that a few wods may be seen written on each of the screens by Eino (Cuts on p. 30) to the effect that these paintings were done by his grandfather Eitoku. Speaking from the stylistic pnint of view, however, the present works are surely painted in the Eitoku style but technically, the exponent, speaking from keen observation, believes that they should more aptly be considered to have possibly been executed at a later date than the great painter Eitoku.

Pl. III Lacquer Painting on Four Doors (Two Sides) of a Buddhistic Shrine.

Height: 58.1 cm.; width: 15 cm., each.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

(See the article by Katsu Nakane)

PI. IV (i) Lacquer Painting on Two Doors (One Side) of the Same Shrine.

Collection of Mr. Kozo Uchida, Tokyo.

(ii) Lacquer Painting on Two Other Doors (One Side) of the Same Shrine.

The Imperial School of Art, Tokyo.

(See the article by Katsu Nakane).

The outer surface of the doors (Cut on p. 31) is lacquered in red and on the inside surface of each door a Buddhistic figure is painted in color on the lacquer ground: There are diverse theories concerning the origin of the technique employed in the lacquer ground; one supports the idea that it is of Chinese make and the other that it is of Japanese. The present shrine, therefore, presents us an interesting problem which should properly be solved by the lacquer expert. And the exponent desires herewith only to describe the pictures shown on the doors.

Judging from the style of the paintings they may have been produced during the Ashikaga Period if they are of Japanese origin and the names of the eight Buddhistic figures which are painted on the doors of the shrine (Pls. III & IV) can be identified with the six from the Juniten and the two from the Ryu-o. But there may also be seen some differences in the style and detailed technique as compared with that which is commonly seen in Japanese productions.

Should they be of Chinese origin the date of production might be placed between the early and mid-Ming Period. The stylistic expression of Chinese Buddhistic figures of the time generally differs far from that of the Japanese of the same time, but the present paintings bear so many similarities that it is difficult to elucidate them at present.

Pl. V-VII Wooden Cranes and Snakes Decorated with Lacquer.

Height of crane: 136 cm.; diameter of base: 62 cm.

Yamanaka & Co., New York.

(See the article by Prof. Sueji Umehara & Seiichi Mizuno)

Pl. VIII Cintamanicakra.

Color on silk. Detail. Mounted as kakemono.

Height: 85.9 cm.; width: 37.7 cm.

The Imperial School of Art, Tokyo.

(Ordinary and infra-red photographs)

(See the article by Katsu Nakane)

Pl. IX Detail from Pl. IV (ii)

The Imperial School of Art, Tokyo.

(Ordinary and infra-red photographs)

(See the article by Katsu Nakane)

Pl. X (A) Bhaisajyaguru.

Wood. Detail.

Height: 56.5 cm.

Collection of Mr. Kin-ya Nagao, Tokyo.

(Ordinary and infra-red photographs)

(B) Eleven-Headed Avalokitesvara.

Wood. Detail.

Height: 180.8 cm.

Gumyoji Temple, Kanagawa.

(Ordinary and infra-red photographs)

(See the article by Katsu Nakane)

P1. XI Mirror with Design in Color.

Bronze. Detail.

Collection of Mr. Kozo Moriya, Kyoto.

(Ordinary photographs and luminographs)

(See the article by Katsu Nakane)

Pl. XII (A) Clay Figure.

Slightly glazed in tri-color. Detail.

Height: 43.3 cm.

Collection of Mrs. Sen Shimomura, Yokohama.

(Ordinary photogaph and luminograph)

(B) Knob of a Bridge-Post.

Pottery. Detail.

Height: 21.5 cm.

The Imperial School of Art, Tokyo.

(Ordinary photograph and luminograph)

Stone. Detail.

Height: 29.1 cm.

Anonymous Collection, Tokyo.

(Ordinary photograph and luminograph)

(See the article by Katsu Nakane)

Pl. XIII Clay Figure.

Height: 22 cm.

Anonymous Collection, Tokyo.

(Ordinary and X-ray photographs)

(See the article by Katsu Nakane)

Pl. XIV Fragments of Old Silk.

Each magnified twenty times.

(Ordinary photographs)

(See the article by Katsu Nakane)

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