Lot

54

A LAQUER AND INK ON WOOD EDICT. EDO PERIOD (1603-1868). DATED 1682

In Important Asian Art

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A LAQUER AND INK ON WOOD EDICT. EDO PERIOD (1603-1868). DATED 1682 - Image 1 of 3
A LAQUER AND INK ON WOOD EDICT. EDO PERIOD (1603-1868). DATED 1682 - Image 2 of 3
A LAQUER AND INK ON WOOD EDICT. EDO PERIOD (1603-1868). DATED 1682 - Image 3 of 3
A LAQUER AND INK ON WOOD EDICT. EDO PERIOD (1603-1868). DATED 1682 - Image 1 of 3
A LAQUER AND INK ON WOOD EDICT. EDO PERIOD (1603-1868). DATED 1682 - Image 2 of 3
A LAQUER AND INK ON WOOD EDICT. EDO PERIOD (1603-1868). DATED 1682 - Image 3 of 3
Auctioneer has chosen not to publish the price of this lot
Rome

RARO ED IMPORTANTE EDITTO IN LACCA ED INCHIOSTRO SU TAVOLA, GIAPPONE DATATO 1682
emanato dallo Shogun Tokugawa per indicare le ricompense promesse a chi individuasse i cristiani nascosti nel XVII secolo.
Misure cm. 46 x 70 x 3.

A LAQUER AND INK ON WOOD EDICT. EDO PERIOD (1603-1868). DATED 1682
46 x 70 x 3 cm.

NOTICE BOARD WITH ANTI-CHRISTIAN EDICT

é«˜ęœ­ļ¼ˆčØ“äŗŗč¤’č³žä»¤ļ¼‰

The system of reward for accusers was a strong way to persecute Christian Missionaries and believers.
Anti-Christian edicts started to be issued in 1587 under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. For some years they were not rigorously enforced everywhere, but in 1614 the Tokugawa Shogunate started a general persecution of Christianity and decrees were regularly erected at bridge entrances or road intersections. To locate hidden Christians and Missionaries, the Shogunate established a system of reward for the accuser.
Starting from the Shimabara Rebellion (1637-1638), this method spread all over the country, increasing the amount of money offered as the persecution got tighter. It continued till the end of the Edo period, and even into the new Meiji Government, when international pressure from Western Nations establishing diplomatic relations with Japan resulted in the ban to be finally lifted with the permanent removal of all notice boards on February the 10th 1873.
This edict board was mounted on a post in 1682. Its specific importance, besides being amongst the very few early examples which survived until the present day, lies in the article about the accuser against the Tachikaeri Mono (Returners to the Christian faith) that seems to have been added from this edict on:

怌ē«‹ć‹ćø悊者恮čØ“äŗŗć€€ć€€ć€€åŒę–­ć€

'the same amount (300 silver coins) for the accuser against a Tachikaeri Mono (Returner)'.
In regard to the rewards, for a long time, one silver unit was the equivalent to 43 momme. In terms of rice price in those days, until 1674, one koku (150 kg or approximately five bushels) of rice was worth 60 momme.
So, if someone accused a Priest, he would be given a reward of 21,500 momme, about 358 koku (53,750 kg.). Even from a present-day perspective, we can see it was a very high amount of money for the accuser.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE EDICT
There are established by law.
The Christian faith has been prohibited for a long time. If you catch a suspicious person, you should send notice to the authorities.
As a reward, we offer 500 silver coins for the accuser against a Bateren (a corrupt word of Padre in Portuguese: Priest),
300 silver coins for the accuser against a Iruman (a corrupt word of IrmĆ£o in Portuguese: Religious Brother),
The same amount: 300 silver coins for the accuser against a Tachikaerimono (Returner),
100 silver coins for the accuser against a Dojuku (acolyte or catechist) or a Christian.
We issue orders as mentioned. Even if the accuser is a Dojuku or a Christian, he (or she) will receive the 500 silver coins according to the one accused.
If the fact that you had hidden a Bateren, Iruman, etc. is revealed, the Nanushi (village headman) of your village, the Goningumi (five-family groups for the purposes of mutual assistance and responsibility) and your relatives, indeed your whole clan will be punished.
The fifth lunar month of the second year of the Tenna Era (1682)
Please obey.
Chikara (signature of the official of the district.

Notice boards from such an early period are very scarce as they were constantly exposed to the elements.
Even though the ink has mostly disappeared, the layer of lacquer applied to the wood to outline the characters allows the text to be clearly read under raking light.
The only other three known examples dated 1682, the earliest date inscribed on any surviving board discovered so far, in similar or even worse conditions, are in the following collections:
The British Museum, London, UK (On display: G93/dc4/sA),
The Twenty Six Martyrs Museum - Treasure Collection, Nagasaki, Japan.
Sophia University - Treasure Collection, Tokyo, Japan.

JAPANESE ORIGINAL TEXT

  定

切ę”Æäø¹å®—é–€ćÆē“Æ幓徔制ē¦ćŸć‚Šč‡Ŗē„¶äøåÆ©ęˆć‚‚ć®ęœ‰ä¹‹ćÆē”³å‡ŗćøć—å¾”ć»ć†ć³  ćØ恗恦

 ćÆć¦ć‚Œć‚“ć®čØ“äŗŗ怀怀怀怀銀äŗ”ē™¾ęžš

 ć„ć‚‹ć¾ć‚“ć®čØ“äŗŗ怀怀怀怀銀äø‰ē™¾ęžš

 ē«‹ć‹ćø悊者恮čØ“äŗŗć€€ć€€ć€€åŒę–­

同å®æå¹¶å®—é–€ć®čØ“äŗŗ怀怀怀銀ē™¾ęžš

右之通åÆč¢«äø‹ä¹‹ćŸćØć²åŒå®æå¹¶å®—é–€ä¹‹å†…ćŸć‚ŠćØ恄恵ćØ悂čØ“äŗŗ恫å‡ŗć‚‹å“ć«  悈悊銀äŗ”ē™¾ęžšåÆč¢«äø‹ä¹‹

隠ē½®ä»–ę‰€ć‚ˆć‚Šć‚ć‚‰ćÆć‚‹ć‚ć«ćŠć‚ć¦ćÆå…¶ę‰€ä¹‹åäø»            并äŗ”äŗŗēµ„čæ„äø€é”žćØ悂恫åÆč¢«å‡¦åŽ³ē§‘č€…ä¹Ÿ

天和äŗŒå¹“äŗ”ęœˆę—„

 å³č¢«ä»°å‡ŗå€™é€šć€€ę€„åŗ¦ć€€åÆē›øå®ˆč€…ä¹Ÿ

 äø»ē؎

RARO ED IMPORTANTE EDITTO IN LACCA ED INCHIOSTRO SU TAVOLA, GIAPPONE DATATO 1682
emanato dallo Shogun Tokugawa per indicare le ricompense promesse a chi individuasse i cristiani nascosti nel XVII secolo.
Misure cm. 46 x 70 x 3.

A LAQUER AND INK ON WOOD EDICT. EDO PERIOD (1603-1868). DATED 1682
46 x 70 x 3 cm.

NOTICE BOARD WITH ANTI-CHRISTIAN EDICT

é«˜ęœ­ļ¼ˆčØ“äŗŗč¤’č³žä»¤ļ¼‰

The system of reward for accusers was a strong way to persecute Christian Missionaries and believers.
Anti-Christian edicts started to be issued in 1587 under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. For some years they were not rigorously enforced everywhere, but in 1614 the Tokugawa Shogunate started a general persecution of Christianity and decrees were regularly erected at bridge entrances or road intersections. To locate hidden Christians and Missionaries, the Shogunate established a system of reward for the accuser.
Starting from the Shimabara Rebellion (1637-1638), this method spread all over the country, increasing the amount of money offered as the persecution got tighter. It continued till the end of the Edo period, and even into the new Meiji Government, when international pressure from Western Nations establishing diplomatic relations with Japan resulted in the ban to be finally lifted with the permanent removal of all notice boards on February the 10th 1873.
This edict board was mounted on a post in 1682. Its specific importance, besides being amongst the very few early examples which survived until the present day, lies in the article about the accuser against the Tachikaeri Mono (Returners to the Christian faith) that seems to have been added from this edict on:

怌ē«‹ć‹ćø悊者恮čØ“äŗŗć€€ć€€ć€€åŒę–­ć€

'the same amount (300 silver coins) for the accuser against a Tachikaeri Mono (Returner)'.
In regard to the rewards, for a long time, one silver unit was the equivalent to 43 momme. In terms of rice price in those days, until 1674, one koku (150 kg or approximately five bushels) of rice was worth 60 momme.
So, if someone accused a Priest, he would be given a reward of 21,500 momme, about 358 koku (53,750 kg.). Even from a present-day perspective, we can see it was a very high amount of money for the accuser.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE EDICT
There are established by law.
The Christian faith has been prohibited for a long time. If you catch a suspicious person, you should send notice to the authorities.
As a reward, we offer 500 silver coins for the accuser against a Bateren (a corrupt word of Padre in Portuguese: Priest),
300 silver coins for the accuser against a Iruman (a corrupt word of IrmĆ£o in Portuguese: Religious Brother),
The same amount: 300 silver coins for the accuser against a Tachikaerimono (Returner),
100 silver coins for the accuser against a Dojuku (acolyte or catechist) or a Christian.
We issue orders as mentioned. Even if the accuser is a Dojuku or a Christian, he (or she) will receive the 500 silver coins according to the one accused.
If the fact that you had hidden a Bateren, Iruman, etc. is revealed, the Nanushi (village headman) of your village, the Goningumi (five-family groups for the purposes of mutual assistance and responsibility) and your relatives, indeed your whole clan will be punished.
The fifth lunar month of the second year of the Tenna Era (1682)
Please obey.
Chikara (signature of the official of the district.

Notice boards from such an early period are very scarce as they were constantly exposed to the elements.
Even though the ink has mostly disappeared, the layer of lacquer applied to the wood to outline the characters allows the text to be clearly read under raking light.
The only other three known examples dated 1682, the earliest date inscribed on any surviving board discovered so far, in similar or even worse conditions, are in the following collections:
The British Museum, London, UK (On display: G93/dc4/sA),
The Twenty Six Martyrs Museum - Treasure Collection, Nagasaki, Japan.
Sophia University - Treasure Collection, Tokyo, Japan.

JAPANESE ORIGINAL TEXT

  定

切ę”Æäø¹å®—é–€ćÆē“Æ幓徔制ē¦ćŸć‚Šč‡Ŗē„¶äøåÆ©ęˆć‚‚ć®ęœ‰ä¹‹ćÆē”³å‡ŗćøć—å¾”ć»ć†ć³  ćØ恗恦

 ćÆć¦ć‚Œć‚“ć®čØ“äŗŗ怀怀怀怀銀äŗ”ē™¾ęžš

 ć„ć‚‹ć¾ć‚“ć®čØ“äŗŗ怀怀怀怀銀äø‰ē™¾ęžš

 ē«‹ć‹ćø悊者恮čØ“äŗŗć€€ć€€ć€€åŒę–­

同å®æå¹¶å®—é–€ć®čØ“äŗŗ怀怀怀銀ē™¾ęžš

右之通åÆč¢«äø‹ä¹‹ćŸćØć²åŒå®æå¹¶å®—é–€ä¹‹å†…ćŸć‚ŠćØ恄恵ćØ悂čØ“äŗŗ恫å‡ŗć‚‹å“ć«  悈悊銀äŗ”ē™¾ęžšåÆč¢«äø‹ä¹‹

隠ē½®ä»–ę‰€ć‚ˆć‚Šć‚ć‚‰ćÆć‚‹ć‚ć«ćŠć‚ć¦ćÆå…¶ę‰€ä¹‹åäø»            并äŗ”äŗŗēµ„čæ„äø€é”žćØ悂恫åÆč¢«å‡¦åŽ³ē§‘č€…ä¹Ÿ

天和äŗŒå¹“äŗ”ęœˆę—„

 å³č¢«ä»°å‡ŗå€™é€šć€€ę€„åŗ¦ć€€åÆē›øå®ˆč€…ä¹Ÿ

 äø»ē؎

Important Asian Art

Sale Date(s)
Lots: 1-221
Venue Address
via dei Greci 2/A
Rome
0018
Italy

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1. SALE - Casa d'Aste Babuino S.r.l., with registered office in Rome, Via dei Greci n. 2a, tax code 04754740589, VAT number 01298101005, acts as exclusive agent for the sale of lots of goods, by auction or private negotiation, on behalf of each owner of the Lots. The sale of the Lots must be considered to have occurred directly between the Seller and who, among the subjects who have submitted offers for the purchase of one or more Lots, has submitted the best offer for the purchase of each of the Lots and is declared the successful bidder of them; therefore the auction house does not assume any responsibility towards the bidders and / or the buyer.

2. CHANGES AND RESERVE PRICE - The Auction House reserves the right to cancel or suspend the auction sale in the event of participation of less than n. 10 (ten) competitors in the room, as well as to withdraw one or more Lots from the auction, at their absolute and unquestionable discretion and without notice; in this case the Lots will in any case be considered not awarded by the Bidders. During the auction, the auctioneer of the Auction House, in its absolute and unquestionable discretion, may decide on the auction-based price of the Lots, vary the sales order of the Lots, match and / or separate the Lots. The Auction House may not proceed with the award and / or withdraw from the auction the Lots for which the best offer among those of the Bidders has not reached the minimum reserve price agreed with the Seller; in this case the Lots must be considered not awarded to the Bidders.

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5. AUCTION RIGHTS - The Successful Bidder, for each of the Lots awarded, undertakes to pay to the Auction House the commission for the auction rights to be determined in the percentage of 25% of the hammer price of each of the Lots awarded.

6. PAYMENTS - The Total Price must be paid by the Buyer to the Auction House within the essential term of n. 20 (twenty) days following the auction, using the following methods:

(a) in cash, up to the total amount of Euro 3,000.00, or the different amount required by law;

(b) by credit cards (circuits accepted by the Auction House), with any related expenses and / or fees charged to the Buyer;

(c) upon express prior acceptance of the Auction House, by bank transfer or cashier's checks and / or non-transferable bank checks, payable to the Auction House.

Only after full payment of the Total Price the ownership and possession of the Lots will pass to the Buyer, except in the case of disputes.

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8. COMPETITION - The Auction House may formulate bids on its own and / or accept mandates for the purchase of certain Lots by its customers; in this case, the auctioneer will bid and / or raise in the auction, based on the instructions received. In the case of offers of the same amount, the offer communicated by the auctioneer will prevail over that of the Offeror in the room, by phone or internet.

9. RESPONSIBILITY - The Auction House acts as an agent with representation of the Seller and is exempt from any liability with regard to the origin and description of the Lots in the catalogs, brochures and any other illustrative material; these descriptions, as well as any other indication or illustration, must be considered purely indicative and not binding, and cannot generate any kind of trust in the Offerors and the Buyer. All the auctions are preceded by the exposition of the Lots, in order to allow a careful and thorough examination of the authenticity, the state of conservation, the origin, the type and the quality of the same, on which only the Bidders and the Buyer assume all risks and responsibilities, also for the effects referred to in art. 1488, c. 2, cc. After the award, neither the Auction House nor the Sellers can be held responsible for any defects in the Lots, relating to the state of conservation, the incorrect attribution, the authenticity, the origin, the weight or the lack of Lots quality. To this end, the Offerors and the Buyer expressly waive the guarantee pursuant to art. 1490 of the Italian Civil Code, freeing the auction house from any related liability; for the effect, neither the Auction House nor its staff will be able to issue any valid guarantee in this regard. In the event of participation in the auction by telephone by the Bidders, the latter exempt the Auction House from any liability in the event of any technical or other problems that may not allow their full participation in the auction (for example, in the event of communication interruptions, line problems, unavailability - for any reason - of the Offerors) and assume any risk regarding the possible failure to award one or more Lots.

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11. DELAYS - In the event that the Buyer does not pay the Total Price within the essential term of no. 20 (twenty) days from the award, the Auction House will be able to resolve the award and / or sale of the corresponding Lots, pursuant to and for the purposes of art. 1456 of the Italian Civil Code. In this case, the Auction House will still be entitled to payment by the Buyer, as a penalty, of the amount equal to the sum of the Rights (i.e. 25% of the hammer price of each of the Lots awarded by the Buyer and unpaid) and 18% of the hammer price of each of the Lots awarded by the Buyer and unpaid, in addition to any greater damage, and may in any case retain any advances paid by the Buyer. Without prejudice to the above, until the eventual resolution, beyond the aforementioned term, the Lots awarded by the Buyer and not yet collected will be kept by the Auction House (at its warehouses or third parties), at the risk and expense of the Buyer, until the Buyer will not fully pay the amount due to the Auction House and collect the Lots.

12. WITHDRAWAL - Unless otherwise agreed between the parties, the Purchaser, after having paid the Total Price, will have to collect the Lots awarded at his own care, risk and expenses, within the same term provided for the payment (term which will remain suspended, in cases where Legislative Decree No. 42/2004, the Code of Cultural Heritage is applicable, for the duration of the law regarding pre-emption). Once this deadline has elapsed unnecessarily, the Auction House will be exonerated from any liability in the event of damage or theft (total or partial) of the Lots, which occurred after the aforementioned term, renouncing the Buyer as of now for any right and action towards the House Auction; in addition, the Auction House may, at its own unquestionable choice and at the Buyer's expense, deposit the Lots awarded at its own warehouses (in this case the Buyer will be owed the additional amount of Euro 10.00 per week, for each Lot) or of third parties, or to the shipment to the Buyer of the Lots awarded and paid, but not withdrawn, in any case with direct debit to the Buyer of all costs and expenses.

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In case of exercise of the right of first refusal pursuant to art. 60 et seq., Legislative Decree no. 42/2004, or compulsory purchase pursuant to art. 70 of the same law, the Buyer cannot claim anything, for any reason, from the Auction House and / or from the Seller, if not the only restitution of the amounts possibly already paid due to the award of the Lots and at the time of payment by part of the Administration.

14. DISPUTES - In the event of disputes by the Purchaser about the counterfeiting or falsification or substantial non-evident defects of the awarded Lots (or parts of them), received by the Auction House within the essential term of n. 30 (thirty) days from the award date and deemed to be founded by the Auction House, the latter may, at its sole discretion, cancel the sale of the Lots in question, or reveal to the Successful Bidder that the name of the Seller requests it, communicating it to him. In any case, in the presence of disputes by the Buyer, the Auction House will still inform the Seller. The Buyer expressly exonerates the Auction House from any liability regarding the authenticity, defects and characteristics of the Lots and renounces any form of claim, in any capacity whatsoever, against the Auction House, and will direct any request (also compensation) directly and exclusively against the Seller. The right to withhold any sums paid by the Buyer, for any reason, before the dispute, in any way, remains firm and unaffected; these amounts may eventually be the subject of a compensation claim from the Buyer to the Seller.

15. BOOK AUCTIONS AND / OR PAINTINGS - Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding article:

(a) as regards Lots containing books and / or other paper goods, any disputes relating to: damage to the binding are in any case excluded, and / or stains, and / or woodworm holes, and / or trimmed papers or boards and / or any other defect that does not affect the completeness of the text and / or the illustrative apparatus; as well as lack of table indices, and / or white sheets, and / or insertions, and / or supplements and appendices subsequent to the publication of the work; any disputes relating to Lots containing books not described in the catalog are also excluded;

(b) as regards the lots sold at auctions of paintings, prints and similar objects, any dispute relating to the frames is excluded. In these cases, any risk and danger in this regard is exclusively borne by the Buyer.

16. THIRD PARTIES - In the event that the Auction House becomes aware of a possible claim or right of third parties inherent in the ownership or possession of one or more Lots, it may, in its sole discretion, withdraw these Lots from the sale and / or keep these Lots in custody, pending the necessary checks and / or the settlement of any nascent dispute.

17. ACCEPTANCE AND JURISDICTION - These conditions of sale are fully accepted, without reservation, by the Bidders, the Buyer and by how many others participate in the auction. These conditions of sale are governed by Italian law; however, all disputes arising from them will be referred exclusively to the jurisdiction of the Court of Rome.

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