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Pair of six-fold screens
Attributed to Tosa Hirochika
Color on paper
150.0x361.8 each
Muromachi period
Various flowers, such as camellia, aronia, pear, plum, peony, hibiscus, and chrysanthemum, are painted together with birds. This painting is modeled on the Chinese flower-and-bird paintings of the Ming Dynasty, although here, the objects are aligned in a typical Japanese-style painting conceit. Each screen contains Tosa Mitsuoki's signature and certification to indicate that it was painted by Tosa Hirochika, a painter famous in the middle of the 15th century. However, further study is required to determine whether Tosa Hirochika really painted these screens. Since the paintings show signs of having had door-pulls, it is suspected that they were once mounted on sliding doors.