Anonymous (16th-17th Century) - Horses in a stable

Pair of six-panel screens; ink, color, gold and gold leaf on paper - 63¾ x 139¾in. (162 x 355cm.) each (2) - Estimate: $400,000-500,000

Notes: Prized steeds are on display in the immaculate wings of a samurai house. These horses are presented as public icons of the wealth and power of their owner, a member of Japan's newly important warrior elite. A rich gold cloud is suspended like a stage curtain above the magnificent stable. In this idealized setting, there are tatami mats in the foreground where owners and trainers can sit or move about. A long curtain is raised and tied at the back of the horse boxes and another set of curtains billows on the far side of the walkway at the back of the stable.

The ropes tied under the bellies seem to be intended to prevent lying down. Traditional Japanese horse managers seem to be fussy about how long a horse spends lying down. Stable screens (umaya-zu) often have a combination of unbelted horses lying down and standing horses with belts. Muromachi-period examples in the Tokyo National Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art, for example, have rambunctious horses with belts and others whose belts are hung on the ceiling out of the way. Melinda Takeuchi, who has studied this subject, suggests that horses can colic (twist their gut) when they lie down and thrash from side to side too vigorously. They also can damage their coat with their hooves. Perhaps they are only allowed to roll when someone is in attendance to keep an eye on them.

There is speculation among Japanese scholars that this pair of screens may date from the late Muromachi period, prior to 1550.

Another screen of the same subject was sold in these Rooms, 24 March, 2003, lot 79.

Christie's. Japanese & Korean Art. 18 March 2008. 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York