Bidspirit auction | Japanese Shunga Silk Scroll WWII

Japanese Shunga Silk Scroll WWII GI Bringback - This piece serves as a notable example of a souvenir shunga (”spring picture”) scroll—with quite graphic imagery that leaves little to the imagination—acquired directly by the family of WWII U.S. Army veteran George Richard Skillicorn as a personal memento during the post-WWII occupation of Japan. Conscripted in 1944 after contributing essential service as a precision tool designer for Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines at the Chevrolet engine plant in Tonawanda, NY, Skillicorn deployed to the Pacific theater with the 32nd Infantry ”Red Arrow” Division, later participating in the post-war occupation where these specific items were widely sought after by G.I.s as exotic curiosities. While the aesthetic draws heavily from the classic ukiyo-e tradition of the Edo period, the uniform application of color and line work suggests this is a mid-20th-century screen-printed production on silk manufactured specifically for the souvenir trade. The scroll currently exhibits prominent horizontal creasing and structural stiffness, a direct result of being kept in a tightly rolled, dark storage environment since the 1940s, though the silk remains intact with slight muted aging characteristic of mid-century textiles. H 48”, W 16”, D 2”. Please see photos for condition.