Japanese Hanging Scroll, Attributed to Shiba Kōkan (司馬江漢), 'Dusk Landscape' (暮色山水図)

Story

During Japan's strict 18th-century isolation, Shiba Kōkan smuggled Dutch artistic manuals into Edo and revolutionized Japanese painting with oil paint, copperplate etching, and Western shadow.

Maker / Origin

Shiba Kōkan (1747–1818) was a trailblazing Edo polymath, Rangaku (Dutch learning) scholar, astronomer, and painter who studied under Harunobu, Sō Shiseki, and Hiraga Gennai. He pioneered Western-style painting (yōfūga) and copperplate etching in Japan, famously signing his works in Roman letters alongside Japanese script.

Condition & Value

Very good antique preservation with minor horizontal rolling creases across the upper silk ground, light surface toning, and faint pigment rubbing consistent with age. The kiwamebako wooden box is intact and properly preserved. Excellent condition for Edo-period silk commands premium collector interest.