Lot 296: ATTRIBUTED TO KISHINE RYUKEI (1855-1935) Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19

ATTRIBUTED TO KISHINE RYUKEI (1855-1935) Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19th century Kakejiku (hanging scroll); ink and colours on paper in silk mounts, depicting an emaciated female ghost, signed Ryukei within a gourdshaped seal; with a wooden storage box. Overall: 185cm x 57.5cm (72 7/8in x 22 5/8in); image: 123cm x 38cm (48½in x 15in). (2).

Provenance Eymery & Cie., Rue St-Honoré, Paris. The style of this painting, including its bird’s-eye view perspective, recalls the work of Kuwahara Keiga, a little-known artist who was permitted to live in the foreign enclave at Nagasaki where he associated with the Dutch residents, making a living depicting them and their activities. For an example of his work registered as an Important Art Object and held by the Nagasaki Municipal Museum, see William Watson, The Great Japan Exhibition: Art of the Edo Period, London, Royal Academy of Arts,1981, cat. no. 55. The exotic nature of the Dutch Factory is emphasized here by the inclusion of luxury Chinese, European and South Asian furnishings.