Pair of Japanese Vintage Gilded Embroidered Silk Wall Decorative Art, circa 1935

The larger one beautifully depicts a famous dance scene from a noh play entitled “Hagoromo” or “celestial feather robe.” A maid of heaven who has descended to earth has lost her magical robe of feathers (hagoromo) without which she can’t return to her celestial abode. A fisherman finds the robe hanging from a pine tree and is about to take it home when the maid of heaven appears on the scene begging for its return. At first, the fisherman refuses to return it. But touched by her desperate pleas, the fisherman agrees to return it on one condition — that she dance a celestial dance for him. As she dances, the maid of heaven slowly disappears into the sky.

The smaller one features a character named Shojo from a play by the same name. Shojo, a sea-dwelling mythical creature, comes ashore to reward an honest wine merchant who has served and befriended him. Drunk and red- faced, Shojo dances for his friend and presents with him with an earthenware jar from which wine flows without end. As his dance comes to a close, Shojo lies down in a drunken stupor. Now, the wine merchant suddenly awakens to discover that all has been a dream, but looking around, finds that the magical jar of his dream has been left in his possession. The reverse side of both the pieces are adorned with chrysanthemum crests embroidered with gold threads.

These exceptional highly ornate pieces were used in the presentation of ceremonial gifts. Made of pure silk in a regal orange and extremely finely embroidered with silk and golden threads.

These two stunning pieces can be hung as they are or framed to make striking wall decorations, as a set or seperately.

They come in a high-quality original custom-made wooden case with elaborate calligraphy. The stylized calligraphy on the top of the case reads “fukusa,” while the reverse side (bearing the September 1937) identifies and describes the scenes from the two Noh plays.

Dimensions:     Large:     D 26.5 in     H 30 in
                         Small      D 23 in         H 26 in