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[Guest]

Good morning all 

 

Just for the fun of it, the motif of the oversized axe in sheet 3 of 3rd from the left piqued my interest, here it is again, and again in different plays by various artists including Steve's spoiler alert:

 

https://data.ukiyo-e.org/waseda/images/101-4225.jpg

 

https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetid=591047001&objectid=3278937&partid=1

 

https://data.ukiyo-e.org/artelino/images/38236g1.jpg

 

https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=788215&partId=1

 

https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetid=513329001&objectid=784815&partid=1

 

And in performance:

 

https://faculty.humanities.uci.edu/sbklein/images/EDOTHEATER/kabuki/pages/BackbendMie.htm

 

[raaay]

Malcolm / Steve 

 

many thanks, for the information on the prints.

 

Malcolm , not in anyway dismissing them , i do really like them ,   i think i done well  @  £70.00 for the pair of them     - 1st print - 19 of 500 prints  and the 2nd 60 of 500 prints. both signed in pencil as you said on the bottom margin .

 

i will try and post a better photo of the other print as requested later . 

[raaay]

Hi Steve 

 

 a few close up details as requested, i hope they are ok .

[SteveM]

Turns out that those bits that I asked you to post were actually the actors' names  , but the publisher info in the pale blue box was enough to sort it out.

 

Here you go

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Toyohara Chikanobu

1880

 

首尾四谷色大山

Shubimo Yotsuya-ironi-Oyama

It features many of the same actors as in your other print

http://archive.library.metro.tokyo.jp/da/detail?tilcod=0000000003-00052285

[Guest]

Morning Ray,

 

Unlike many of the earlier Woodblock Artists, the author of the triptych Steve has just identified, was actually involved in conflict.

 

He was a member of the Shougitai, the elite attack regiment of the Tokugawa.

 

He fought, both at the battle of Ueno, and later as one of the hold outs at the battle of Hakodate.

 

Interesting Life story, worth looking up.

 

[raaay]

malcolm ,

 

thanks again for the info on the print themes , adding a couple more of my prints ,  Toyakuni   - a night scene with firefly's ?     and a famous Hasui print 

 

 

         

[Guest]

Hi Ray,

 

Always loved the Shin Hanga movement, and Hasui in particular.

 

It's known as ZouJouji in Shiba, and comes from a series known as 20 Views of Tokyo, original printing dates from 1925

 

If it's a first edition, worth quite a bit.

 

Can you get it out of the frame and photograph front and back including extra close on the signature and seal in the lower left corner, and whatever is in the margin, extreme left, which is currently covered by the window mount.

 

You certainly have an eye for prints.

 

[raaay]

Hi Steve 

 

many thanks for the additional  info on the woodblock prints , i would never found all that info  on my own !

[PietroParis]

  On 4/17/2020 at 9:22 AM, Malcolm said:

Can you get it out of the frame and photograph front and back including extra close on the signature and seal in the lower left corner, and whatever is in the margin, extreme left, which is currently covered by the window mount.

 

If this was a Heisei reproduction, one should see also the 7mm round Watanabe seal within the image, near one of the lower corners. Anyway, I notice that the matting covers a bit of the image along the lower and right margins.

 

P.S. in case somebody wants to give it a shot, a modern reproduction of that print is currently being auctioned here with no reserve price. Contrary to what the seller writes, it is not from the original woodblocks, but from recarved ones. I would also question the "expert estimate" of 350-450 EUR, since the price in Watanabe's shop is 25920 JPY.

[nektoalex]

Hello everybody! Another print. Ichijusai Kunisada 一寿斎 国貞 , Kabuki Kobata Koheiji scene

[raaay]

Malcolm

 

just as well i am planing to renew the original frame and the mount , it is in poor condition , as requested , couple additional of pics .

 

And  IMHO this  is a genuine Hasui wood block print,  not a copy .     

 

 

          

[PietroParis]

At the very least, it does carry the "A seal" that, according to this page, was in use between 1924 and 1930!

 

 

You might indeed want to replace the matting with a more professional one, I see no reason to cover part of the image. Be sure they use acid-free, museum-grade materials. Also, I would hesitate to hold a valuable 95yo print with bare fingers.

[PietroParis]

  On 4/18/2020 at 4:09 PM, raaay said:

And  IMHO this  is a genuine Hasui wood block print,  not a copy .  

 

For woodblock prints, "genuine" vs "copy" is a tricky concept. First editions, later (but lifetime) editions and posthumous editions could all be considered "genuine" if they were pulled from the original woodblocks, but they vary considerably in value. If yours is really from 1925, congratulations!!! A copy would be a print obtained from re-carved blocks, such as the one being currently auctioned on catawiki.

[raaay]

Pietro 

 

yes i know i should have been more careful holding the print, i did very gently brush over the area after with museum grade tissue paper , so hopefully no harm done , when it is remounted  i will make sure it is done properly ,

 

many thanks,

[PietroParis]

Probably I am stating the obvious, but if you hang the print you should also make sure that it is never hit by direct sunlight...

[Bugyotsuji]

More coal for the boilers.

Something not in a permanent frame.

[Guest]

Ray, 

 

Thank you for removing the print from its frame.

 

Pietro has more than adequately covered all the points regarding it.

 

If you ask the framer to use "Tru Vue" Museum conservation glass, it will help preserve the colours.

 

[Guest]

Good morning Piers,

 

Quick note,  your print is by Utagawa Hiroshige, from the series Filial Piety and Revenge, and is called "Gappo ga Tuji" (alt Gohou ke Tsuji  合法ヶ辻) .

 

"Gappo at the crossroads"?

 

It depicts the encounter between Saeda Daigaku and the Ascetic Gappo  / Gouhou (Wearing the Shugendo kanji Kimono) on the statue of Emma - O, the king of Hell.

 

https://ukiyo-e.org/image/honolulu/5209

 

Here's Utagawa Yoshitora's triptych version:

 

https://wellcomecollection.org/works/bxtfmewf/items?canvas=1&langCode=jpn

 

And Kunisada:

 

https://ukiyo-e.org/image/etm/0189200793

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Why, thank you kind sir. It is on a simple clip board frame and has some kind of flexible plastic/Perspex shield.

 

I might post something else if the fire dies down again!

[raaay]

Pietro / Malcolm 

 

again many thanks for the info supplied, 

 

NB- none of my prints are in any position where they would have any direct sunlight on them  , 

[Bugyotsuji]

Triptych. Something a little different.

[Guest]

Morning Piers,

 

Let's break this one down, (not literally).so everyone can join in.

 

1. What is significant about the pigment colours of the majority of the inks used and how might this put an approximate age to it?

 

2. What clue is there to the school to which the artist shows allegiance?

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Malcolm, I like your thinking.

[Guest]

3. The title is, I believe:

 

富

家

之

別

荘

 

4. The artist was born in 1838 and died in Taisho 1.

 

5. Which artist was famed for his use of this colourway, though is not necessarily the artist in question.

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

3. Villa of a Wealthy Family, correct.

4. 1838-1912 correct

5. Er... uh...

[Guest]

https://www.viewingjapaneseprints.net/texts/topics_faq/anilinedyes.html

 

And just to add that the artist in question has previously been mention in this topic, for his exploits......

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Nice link, which sheds much light, and yes, a disciple of Kunichika.

[Guest]

Yours, although it looks slightly trimmed is in wonderful colour condition.

 

I particularly like the woodgrain in the central sheet.

 

And the clue to the school is:

 

https://toshidama.blogspot.com/2010/12/toshidama-seals-in-Japanese-prints.html

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Love that linked information. I always thought the ‘caterpillar’ was a coat of snow! And I still continue to give my daughters Otoshidama every year... .

揚州周延　by Yō-Shū Chikanobu, created in c1889-1890

[Guest]

Spot on Detective work!!