{"product_id":"tethered-birds-of-prey-circa-1625-1656-after-1670-two-masterful-paintings-of-hawks-copied-after-soga-chokuan-and-bearing-the-artist-seals-of-his-son","title":"Tethered Birds of Prey, Circa 1625-1656\/After 1670(?). Two Masterful Paintings of Hawks, Copied After Soga Chokuan, and Bearing the Artist Seals of his Son","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eTitle:\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eTethered Birds of Prey, Circa 1625-1656\/After 1670(?). Two Masterful Paintings of Hawks, Copied After Soga Chokuan, and Bearing the Artist Seals of his Son\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: After Soga Chokuan; Attributed to\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eSoga Nichokuan; Possibly Later Soga School Artist\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Very Good\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eAn Early Edo Period, 17th century (or possibly Mid Edo Period) pair of paintings, depicting two tethered birds of prey atop pedestals, being hawks.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eBoth hawks have striking, imposing figures, with rich plumage, and sharp gazes, glaring back at the viewer, and in the case of the second hawk, possible prey.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eBased on comparisons, these paintings appear to be early copies of the Birds of Prey Series (one painting is clearly an expertly made copy from the set sold as Lot 7 at the Christie’s Sale of April 18th, 2018) made by Soga Chokuan (Active 1596-1615), and based on the artist seal, they appear to be attributed to his son, \u003cb\u003eSoga Nichokuan\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eBorn in Sakai, and with a later Buddhist name of Nichoan Junbai, Soga Nichokan was a rather enigmatic and still relatively mysterious artist, with little known about his history or even his exact date of birth. Active until his death purportedly around 1656 (Meireki 2), he was an eccentric loner, and channelled his own personality to his work, with his hawk paintings possessing a strength and tension tempered by meticulous attention to detail. Nichokuan specialised in painting flowers, birds, and people, especially hawks. He inherited the Intai-style sketches and Chokuan’s bold brushwork, but his style was much more expressive.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eThe case to confidently attribute these paintings to Soga Nichokuan is a bit mixed, due to a few factors. While these paintings do indeed have one of his artist seals \u003ci\u003eHoin\u003c\/i\u003e, it is difficult to tell how good an impression it is, due to wear that the paintings have incurred. \u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eFurthermore, while Nichokuan did indeed produce color paintings of hawks, much of his work was monochrome, so one can only compare the composition and linework, and to a certain extent, the facial expressions of the hawks.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eLeading into that however, there are factors that work in favor of the attribution claim, being that the linework, compositions, and sharp facial expressions of the hawks do indeed have strong similarities to existing examples, such as Hawks (object 2018.853.15a, b) at the MET, and An Eagle on a snow-laden blossoming plum tree (F1898.475) at the Smithsonian. The plumage is also rendered rather nicely as well. It should also be noted that these two compositions vary quite differently in their linework and detailing from the later set of likely 19th century hawk paintings held at the MET (object 14.76.67a–l). The MET examples also lacking any artist seals or signatures of the Soga School.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eWith that in mind, if these are not paintings by Soga Nichokuan, then they were most certainly produced, by a slightly later but still incredibly skilled \u003cb\u003eSoga School artist\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eThe paintings have been neatly mounted onto a brocade decorated \u003ci\u003ekakejiku\u003c\/i\u003e (hanging scroll), with \u003ci\u003ejikusaki\u003c\/i\u003e (knobs), though one knob from each has fallen off. There is a wooden double box to accompany them, preserving the scrolls.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eTwo paintings mounted on a \u003ci\u003ekakejiku\u003c\/i\u003e (hanging scroll), 197 x 53.5 cm full size, 99 x 42.5 cm main paintings\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003eThese paintings are in very good shape, with minimal wear or rubbing to the outside of the canvas and brocade. There are a few creases and small cracks to both paintings, with minor staining, and at least two small worm tracks.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"That Guy With The Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51632030122295,"sku":null,"price":4200.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0281\/1589\/4371\/files\/20260105_155025.jpg?v=1769918068","url":"https:\/\/thatguywiththebooks.com\/products\/tethered-birds-of-prey-circa-1625-1656-after-1670-two-masterful-paintings-of-hawks-copied-after-soga-chokuan-and-bearing-the-artist-seals-of-his-son","provider":"That Guy With The Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}