Japanese Textile Art

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DESCRIPTION: Kanban: The Japanese Shop Sign

This marvelous example of old Japan is a hand carved, hand stained and hand painted Shop Sign that has assumed the shape of the product that was being sold. It was hung outside the door of the shop as advertising for the products within. Displaying a product in this way was the oldest and most common form for Kanban dating to Old Japan. It instantly communicated to the viewer, through its graphic presentation, the exact nature of the shop in an ingenious, imaginative and graceful manner. As a form of advertising, it was inspired; and as the style of the execution itself, it was raised to the level of an art form.

During the Edo Era (1615-1867), when all of Japan was withdrawn from the world and consolidated under the Shogun's rule, a time of peace and prosperity existed for almost 250 years. At this time, merchants grew so powerful that, at one point, the Shogun ordered that all the ornate gilt Shop Signs be destroyed. This was the time when Kanban were restricted to simple black lettering describing the product. At this point, this stunning Kanban was created. It is in the shape of a Hair Comb whose style is based on the utilitarian short toothed wooden comb that was in common use during the Edo period, as the elaborate combs were most often used by courtesans whose accessories your average Japanese woman would not want to emulate.

However, all forms of hair ornaments adorned the elaborate hair styles of ladies in the Edo period; and in this Kanban, the beautiful calligraphy reinforces the message of the carved art: On the side of the Kanban with the red lettering: reading from right to left in the Japanese manner
    the first word: Kanzashi = hair pin
    the second word: Saiku = workmanship or piece of work
    the third word: Kouri = retail
On the reverse or Dark Wood Side with black lettering:
    one work: Komamono = notions store or haberdashery obviously offering a wide selection of hair combs and other items.

Merchants thought of their businesses as family enterprises. As such, the wooden sign of the house became a treasure. Kanban today are intricate artifacts of a bygone era when, during the peace of the Edo Era, the Japanese no longer needed to live by the sword. This pastoral existence, and the Kanban that represented this period, began to give way as the Meiji restoration occurred in 1868, and Japan began to modernize. Thus, the old signs gave way to new and less artful forms of advertising.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan

IDENTIFICATION: Hand carved, finished and painted wood Shop Sign

APPROXIMATE DATE OR PERIOD: Edo Era (1615 - 1867)

FABRIC CONTENT and CONDITION: Hand carved Wood Shop Sign in excellent condition

FINISHED SIZE: 28" wide x 14 1/2" high

PRESENTATION: Stunning art work to be hung against a wall or between areas with both sides showing. Could also be hung in a Plexiglas stand intended to show both sides and set on a local table or chest.

A Certificate of Authenticity is included.

PRICE: $4800

TTAC will personally pack and ship via UPS at company expense within the continental U.S.