Antique Japanese 17th C Ikebana Flower and 25 similar items

Gorgeous, elegant, timeless, What an Opportunity to own a Genuine 17th Century Japanese Watercolor Painting of an Ikebana Rikka Flower Arrangement hand painted by monks at the Rokkakudo Temple in Kyoto in 1698. It's hard to believe that these delicate watercolors are over 3 centuries old! They look so fresh, and even modern; I love thinking about a long gone Buddhist Monk who hand painted this, about the Ikebana designer who designed the arrangement itself, and the many students over time who used the book for their own studies and designs. Also note the japanese characters (signature) which I am told is the name of the original Artist who designed the arrangement.. These Ikebana Designers were the real 'rock stars' here.. the monks who copied and painted those designs for these books would not have signed their work. Another charming aspect is the variety of vases in these arrangements; especially notable are the vase handles, which are often whimsical creatures, bugs dragons, tigers etc. I have two books of these arrangements and from them, I will be listing close to 50 individual pages = paintings. They look so amazing in a grouping; Once matted and framed they would certainly be something special in a hallway, entry way or powder room, not to mention a conversation piece, and a piece of history. Mix and match a set; all prints will be sent in an acid free sleeve. Note: Along with the photos of the painting listed here, are photos of the book it came from, and of the original Japanese inscription in the book. Condition: The condition of the paintings from this book will range from very nice to some with worm hole or holes, a few with foxing dots, some have a light shadow of color from the painting on the paged that faced it..Also some pages have evidence in the lower right or left corner of having been touched for page turning. Note that most of the corner would be covered under a mat. Please use all the photos and the zoom feature to see the exact condition of the particular listed painting. The entire surface will be shown. I am a little fond of the paintings with the little worm holes of some evidence of its age and centuries of existence. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If interested in the background of this watercolor painting and the book it came from, read further! Provenance and History of the books this painting is taken from: This painting came from one of two Ikebana albums (it originally was a set of 3 books; we only had 2 of those). They were given to my aunt and uncle as a gift in the 1960s when they were doing business in Japan. In the 1990s, these were appraised by a top NY Auction House and were catalogued for sale. The following comes from that catalogue entry: Category Selected: Asian Art Brief Description: two volumes (2 3 of 3) 17th c Ikenobo Rikka Ikebana paintings. Long Description: "Anonymous: Shinsen Binka Zui: New selection of flower arrangements in vases, classified, sumizuri-e.,; colophon dated Genroku 11 (1698) fukurotoji-bon, 2 vols (33.3 x 24.3cm each( block printed, in paper wrappers decorated with chrysanthemum design, title slips black on buff, titled as above, sewn; good impression, slightly stained and worming." "Contents: Vol. I, 26 leaves, unnumbered, 49 single page illustrations, every illustration together with the names of the artists, of flower arrangements, 1 double page illustration; Vol. II, 26 leaves unnumbered, 47 single page illustrations and 2 double page illustrations, each illustration together with the names of the artists of the flower arrangements, last page, colophon dated as above, signed Rakuyo Rokkaku-do mae ('In front of Rokkaku-do in Kyoto") Yamanaka Chasaemon and sealed. est. 10,000-15,000." In general, further information about the history of Ikebana, the founder of Ikebana, Ikenobo, The Genroku Culture, and the Rikka style of Ikebana, and the role that the Rokkaku-do temple played in Ikebana and the production of the picture books can be found by a google search for the following topics : ***Rokkaku-do Buddhist Temple in Kyoto ***Ikenobo Rikka ***Picture books of the Genroku Period ***Genroku Culture; Genroku Bunka period (most artistic period of 1666-1707.) ***U.S National Arboretum ~ Rare book collection. (Rikka Shodoshu) (online viewing available) for similar book of compositions. usna.usda.gov Gardens Ikebana * The Ikebana Society in Wash DC looked at these books for me and gave me a little history: "Genroku bunka period is the most artistic period of 1666 - 1707. One arrangement was done by Ikenobo Headmaster Senyou and the script was written by Chuzaemon Yamanaka at Rokkakudo temple in the year of Genroku 11. Can not translate the exact meaning of script but it says about Rikka. Another drawing was arranged by Mitsunari Inagai " Please contact me if you'd like any other information. quick and careful packaging and shipping Non-smoking No odors. The books were carefully stored while my family owned them thanks!