Japanese stump – Two quails and bamboo

Charming Japanese print from the Meiji period, depicting two quails at the edge of a bamboo grove .
The work testifies to the refined style of Ogata Gekkō , known for his naturalistic compositions imbued with gentleness and silence.

The simplicity of the scene, where the birds are rendered with a subtle gradation of grey and white, contrasts with the lightness of the foliage sketched in blue ink. This combination of blending and wash techniques evokes the tradition of nihonga (modern Japanese painting) combined with the precision of nishiki-e printmaking.

The vertical signature accompanied by the typical red seal of Gekkō is visible on the right of the composition.

Technical details:

• Title assigned: Two quails and bamboo

• Artist: Ogata Gekkō (尾形月耕, 1859–1920)

• Period: Meiji era, circa 1890–1900

• Technique: Polychrome woodblock printing ( nishiki-e ) and ink wash

• Support: Japanese washi paper

• Dimensions: Approximately 27 × 19 cm

• Condition: Very good – slight signs of age consistent with age, sound paper, soft and intact colors

• Framing: Presented in a period light wood frame
  
  

Ogata Gekkō was a self-taught painter and engraver, celebrated for his landscape, flower and bird prints (kachō-ga), as well as for his historical scenes.
Influenced by the European movements of realism and symbolism, he introduced a more poetic and contemplative sensibility into Japanese prints.
His works are now held in the Tokyo Museum of Art , the British Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston .