Kakemono Quails

With the finest brush and carefully applied layers of color, the painter rendered the speckled plumage of two quails foraging for food beneath overhanging millet ears and blue-flowering morning glories.

The warm brown tones of the birds harmonize with the golden background, while the vivid blue blossoms and the slender blades of grass lend additional freshness to the composition. The naturalistic precision with which the feathers and plants are rendered attests to great painterly skill. The work was created in the Meiji period on silk, signed; the jikusaki ends are made of bone.

Quails are counted among the popular autumn motifs in Japanese bird-and-flower painting and symbolize modesty and domestic happiness. This kakemono combines fine craftsmanship with a quiet, nature-bound pictorial language.