Attributed to Shūgetsu Tōkan 秋月等観 (d. 1529) Scholar Contemplating the Moon
Muromachi period (1333-1573), 16th centuryKakejiku (hanging scroll), ink and very slight colour on paper in silk mounts, depicting a recluse with attendant on the rocky pine-clad shore of a mountain stream contemplating the moon in the distance; ivory jiku (roller ends)Seal at lower right, probably Tōkan 等観 Overall: 118.5cm x 50cm (46 5/8in x 19 5/8in); Image: 28cm x 34.5cm (11in x 13 5/8in) (2).
注脚
Wood tomobako storage box inscribed outside Shin sansui 真山水 (True landscape), also inscribed inside Shin sansui 真山水 (True landscape), followed by an inscription to the effect that the painting is by Shūgetsu Tōkan 秋月等観 and sealed Tōkan 等観 and recording that the artist was a pupil of Sesshū, with a paper label stamped with the red collector's seal of a Mr Fukada 深田The red pot seal seen here, although very worn, is likely a version of that recorded in Honchō gain (Painter's Seals of the Realm), a woodblock-printed compilation published in 1693. The relevant image is accessible at http://lab.inf.shizuoka.ac.jp/takamatsu/honchogain-20.htm (folio 21, left-hand page, bottom of left-hand column).A native of the Shimazu family domain in Satsuma, Shūgetsu Tōkan is known for a small number of landscapes and portraits of historical personages that bear his seal. Following a period of study with the great painter Sesshū Tōyō he returned home in 1492 and may have visited China in 1496. He appears to have had a number of successors down to the late sixteenth century, but thereafter the line died out due to the overwhelming influence of the Kano academy; see Nagata 1988 and Tōkyō 1987, cat. nos. 37 and 38.Please note that the jiku (roller ends) are made of ivory, the import of which is banned in the USA and China; additionally, from 1 January 2021 this lot will require a CITES permit for export to all other destinations outside of the UK. Should you wish, the Japanese Department can arrange for the jiku to be professionally removed at an additional cost.