35 Kōno Bairei 1844 – 1895 Three book pages from Bairei's Album of One Hundred Birds

Japan, 1881 (Meiji 14)

This lot offers a charming trio of illustrated pages from the renowned masterpiece by Kyoto painter Kōno Bairei, titled "Bairei's Album of One Hundred Birds," published in 1881. Bairei was one of the most prominent figures in the kachō-ga (bird-and-flower painting) genre during the Meiji period, and his works are characterized by extraordinary observational skills and a delicate, lyrical sense of detail. The presented pages capture three different nature scenes: from the left, we see a small bird perched on the stem of a blooming lily; the middle page shows a bird swooping down toward a branch with pinkish blossoms; and the right page depicts a bird in flight passing a blossoming camellia or similar spring shrub. These book illustrations are a beautiful example of traditional Japanese harmony with nature and flawless printmaking craftsmanship.