Posted 4 years ago
jennyafrank
(10 items)
I just picked these up at a local thrift store and am curious about the age and any history of these two photos. It's driving me bonkers trying to decipher the marks and seals. Please help!!!
Chinese Man & Woman on Silk | ||
| Asian Antiques1360 of 10167 |  |  |
First off these are Japanese, man and woman in traditional silk garments.
Possibly a marriage couple in their special garments.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f4/08/83/f40883e807f03562b46cce6bab2b6131.jpg
Yes, this is very definitely a Japanese -- not Chinese -- couple, depicted in the finery worn on the wedding day. The woman is wearing the elaborate uchikake (overkimono) and tsunokakushi headdress. The man is wearing the high-formality black haori jacket with 5 crests, along with a hakama (pleated skirt) which is also very formal.
According to Google Translate, the two written kanji characters mean "east" and "beauty". Together, they can also be a woman's given name (Tomi), although that doesn't make sense given they appear on the picture of the man! The characters in red are harder to make out as they are very stylized and probably stamped with a seal, but I think they are possibly the same two kanji. So - this is my guess, nothing more - perhaps it's either the name of the company that made and sold the pictures, or the name of this specific set of wedding pictures. It's just possible these were intended for the export market as a touch of "exotica", as they don't appear to depict anyone in particular, but simply represent the ideal of the handsome married couple.
thank you rhineisfine,
Satisfied you could confirm and add the information about these Japanese ceremonial garments. These paintings on silk were made for export, and presented in a fine cardboard folder with ribbon, not mounted in a frame, there were several of them, and as you say, had different types of motifs, a lot of them were colorful geishas.
I really like these and mounted my favorites with a mat and frame.