A RARE AND IMPORTANT NANBAN FOUR-FOLD SCREEN PROBABLY DEPICTING THE VESSEL ‘DE RYP’ AT THE SHIMABARA REBELLION IN 1637-1638, NANBAN BYOBU
JAPAN, 19TH CENTURY
Unsigned. Ink and color on paper.

A RARE AND IMPORTANT NANBAN FOUR-FOLD SCREEN PROBABLY DEPICTING THE VESSEL ‘DE RYP’ AT THE SHIMABARA REBELLION IN 1637-1638, NANBAN BYOBU
JAPAN, 19TH CENTURY
Unsigned. Ink and color on paper.
Dimensions:
- the screen with the mount: 73 x 156 cm
- the sole painted part: 60 x 145 cm

*****DIMENSIONS SHOULD READ - the screen with the mount: 73 x 156 cm
- the sole painted part: 60 x 145 cm*****

Provenance: A French Riviera private collection.

Notes:
1. The byobu was used in Japan to create a more intimate space in large areas or to frame or define a ritual space. Generally made in pairs, byobu offer a splendid surface for decoration. 
2. In 1543 the Portuguese namban (or nanban, meaning ‘foreigners’) arrived in Japan and had an impact on the country which also resulted in the apparition of a new art at the confluence of Europe and Asia. Nanban art refers to Japanese art of the Edo period and, more precisely, of the 16th-17 centuries, influenced by the contact with the ‘Southern Barbarians’ also known as Nanban (南蛮), traders and missionaries from Europe, mostly from Spain and Portugal. Our screen is more likely dating to the 19th century. Therefore it would be more accurate to speak about Nanban style. It is also to be noted it depicts a Dutch vessel (please note the flags) and Dutch characters whom, alike other non-Spanish and non-Portuguese westerners, were referred to as Kō-mōjin (紅毛人), lit. ‘Red-haired’ peoples.
3- The precise subject is probably the vessel ‘De Ryp’ at the Shimabara Rebellion (島原の乱 - Shimabara no ran) in 1637-1638, an uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The daimyō of this domain enforced unpopular policies that drastically raised taxes and violently prohibited Christianity. As a result, in december 1637, an alliance of local rōnin and mostly Catholic peasants led by Amakusa Shirō rebelled against the Tokugawa shogunate, which sent a force of over 125,000 troops supported by the Dutch to suppress the rebels and defeated them after a long siege against Hara castel. Nicolaes Couckebacker, Opperhoofd of the Dutch factory on Hirado, provided the gunpowder and cannons, and later on was requested to send a vessel, the ‘De Ryp’, which he personally accompanied to a position offshore, near Hara Castle. The vessel can be identified due to its Dutch flags, but also to the dress-style peculiarities of the characters as well as its cannons, here hidden behind ports.

NOTE: CONDITION REPORTS AND MEASUREMENTS

 

It is up to the bidder to satisfy themselves prior to buying as to the condition of a lot. In relation to Condition Reports, whilst we make certain observations on the lot, which are intended to be as helpful as possible, references in the condition report to damage or restoration are for guidance. The absence of such a reference does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. The condition report is an expression of opinion only and must not be treated as a statement of fact. Measurements and weight are approximate and the potential bidder may re-ask it to be checked when asking for a condition report.

 

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