A JAPANESE SILK EMBROIDERY BY NISHIMURA SOZAEMON (1855-1935)

A JAPANESE SILK EMBROIDERY BY NISHIMURA SOZAEMON (1855-1935)

MEIJI PERIOD, C.1910

Depicting two young women illuminated by a paper lantern, one holding a brush and about to write on a sheet of paper, the dimmed light cleverly rendered by minimal stitch work, on a dark chocolate-brown ground, in its original wood and silk frame with chrysanthemum-shaped rings to the sides, the back with an elaborate paper label reading 'S.Nishimura, Kyoto, Japan, Manufacturer of High Class Embroideries, Fancy Cut-velvets and Silk Goods in General', 31.8cm x 43.3cm overall.

Cf. the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Threads of Silk and Gold, Ornamental Textiles from Meiji Japan, pp.154-155 for two related embroideries by Nishimura Sozaemon depicting beauties lit by a weak light.