Q & A

S. S. of Mount Forest, Ontario writes:

When my Great Uncle died, his art collection was divided between the family members. My Aunt found these silk paintings (two large pictures of ladies) rolled up in a closet and asked who would like them. As I was the only one with a wall large enough to accommodate them, I asked if I could have them.

My husband and I found an art dealer who said he would take extra care of them as they were old, silk and very fragile. We had to use plexi-glass as the dealer felt glass would be too heavy. The pictures are about 8 ft. tall by 2 1/2 ft wide.

I know my Great Aunt and Uncle lived in Japan for about 7 years and he collected many works of art. I would like more information on the larger pictures...since we know absolutely nothing about them.

We had a Japanese art appraiser checking out information about them, but unfortunately he died before we received any information back from him. So if you could provide us any information we would appreciate it.

We asked Colin Ritchie to respond:

The Japanese paintings on silk are very decorative images of bijin (young women) dating from the late Meiji or Taisho periods, early 20th century, a time when this type of painting was popular, particularly for the western market. The signature is not one I recognize and probably that of an obscure minor artist, the characters appear to read "Kasetsu" but I can find no reference to this name.

They appear to be quite well painted and considering the large size would likely sell in region of $ 1500 - $ 2000 at auction sale.