Calabash, Kakemono, Japan, 19th-20th Century.

Scroll with a hand-painted image in ink and color on paper. The image depicts a gourd and a poetic commentary on the painted plant, written in the sōsho style (cursive script). The gourd motif suggests both philosophical content: "The emptiness within the calabash" (a reference to Buddhism), and wishful content: the gourd as a symbol of prosperity and health.

Ink and color on paper.

Japan, late 19th - early 20th century. Signature to identify.

Dimensions: 193 x 34.5 cm, image: 126 x 30.5 cm. Width with handles: 37.5 cm.

Relatively good condition, one handle is missing.

Kakemono (Japanese: 掛け物 kake-mono - "hanging object"; also: 掛軸 kakejiku - "hanging scroll") - a Japanese painting on paper or silk, usually glued to a silk backing, intended to be hung on the wall. The top and bottom edges of the kakemono are attached to wooden bars to facilitate rolling, with the bottom bar (Japanese: ikugi 軸木) also equipped with protruding handles (Japanese: jiku). Kakemono scrolls first appeared in Japan during the Nara period (710-794). In traditional Japanese homes, they are hung in a niche called a tokonoma.

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