Posts by Richard Kruml:
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
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A shishi cub being taught to scale a vertical cliff. ( Shishi: ‘Chinese Lion’ [ Ch.: Shi-tzu ]. ) it was said that the shishi cast its young from a high rock to test whether it could scale the rock face in which case it became the perfect beast. Published by Sanoki, c 1839-40. Extremely rare: one other impression illustrated in The Art of Hiroshige, Tsuneo Tamba, no.410.
Fine impression and colour. Small areas of expert restoration. Signed Hiroshige ga.
Status: Sold
Utagawa KUNISADA (1785-1865)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut fan print showing the actor Bando Takesaburo I in the role of the Sumo wrestler Shirafuji Genta from a set: Mitate gonin otoko go-hiiki omozashi, An Imaginary Five Commoners.” Published by Yama-Ta, 2ic/1852. Superb impression with mica added to sky and burnishing. Superb colour and […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1785-1865)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut fan print showing the actor Bando Shuka I: “Snow” from a Furyu settsugekka set of Snow, Moon , Flowers. Published by Kojima Jubei (who specialised in fans) in 3/1853. Superb impression with mica added to sky. Superb colour and condition: From a group of such […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A tanzaku showing a Japanese finch sitting on a camellia branch. Unidentified collector’s seal au verso. Very fine impression. Fine colour and condition. Signed Hiroshige hitsu. Status: Sold
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Ai or ayu, river trout, Plecoglossus altivelis. Poem by Haruzono Shizuo. From the first set of fish prints published by Eijudo, c 1832-4. This first series was issued privately for a poetry group ( probably the Shingyoku Circle ) with judges’ names and extra poems. These prints are […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1865)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut fan print showing a geisha adjusting her hair pin set against a snowy landscape. Fukagawa Iyo setsu, “Time in Fukugawa, Iyo Province.” Published 3/1855 by Iseba Magobei. Fine impression and colour with splashed gofun to represent falling snow. Small expertly repaired wormhole, otherwise very good […]
Utagawa SADAHIDE (1807-1879)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut fan print Gosekku no uchi, kugatu, tsuki machi, “Five Festivals, Ninth Month, Moon Viewing.” Viewing the full moon in the eighth and ninth months was a popular activity passed down from the aristocracy in Heian times; especially where the moon’s reflection could be seen in water. […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A half- block print showing a small bird (possibly a bush warbler) and plum blossom. . Published by Kawasho (Kawaguchi Shozo) c. mid 1830s. Half-blocks were printed two-to-a-sheet and divided, either vertically or horizontally. Very good impression, colour and condition. Signed Hiroshige ga with Utagawa seal. […]
Anonymous (c. 1810)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut ukie fan print, Edo meisho Eitaibashi, “Eitai Bridge, Edo.” Published by Ibaya Sensaburo, c. early 1800s. Possibly by Utagawa Kunimitsu or Utagawa Kunitora and quite possibly the only recorded impression. Very good impression and colour. Slight corner soil, otherwise good condition. Status: Sold
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A half-block print showing a sparrow and iris. Published by Kawasho (Kawaguchi Shozo) c. mid 1830s. Half-blocks were printed two-to-a-sheet and divided, either vertically or horizontally. Very good impression, colour and condition. Signed Hiroshige ga with Utagawa seal. Status: Sold
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1865)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut fan print showing the actor Ichikawa Danjuro VIII in the role of Hanakawado no Sukeroku from a set: Mitate gonin otoko go-hiiki omoizashi, “A Parody of the Five Chivalrous Commoners, a Cup of Sake from their Fans.” Shows the actor holding a number of pipes; a […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1865)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut fan print showing the actor Sawamura Chojuro V as Ono no Tofu (aka Ono no Michikaze) in the play Ono no Tofu aoyagi suzuri performed at the Ichimura-za Theatre, 3/1850. Shows the character holding a large umbrella. Published by Ibaya Senzaburo, 1850 (who seems to have […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut fan print from a series: Koumei matsu tsukushi, “ Famous Kinds of Pine.” A euphemism for young beauties. One here shown holding a cage for fireflies being caught by children in the background. Published by Maruya Jinpachi, 4/1854. Fine impression, colour and condition. Signed Kuniyoshi […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut fan print. Moon from a setsugekka set of famous views of Edo. Shows the interior of a teahouse. Published 1849-53 by Ibaya Sensaburo. Very good impression and colour. Restored centre bottom and other minor imperfections, but otherwise good condition. Signed Hiroshige ga. Very rare: […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1865)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut fan print, Ryogokubashi natsu no kei, “View of Ryogoku Bridge in the Summer” from a set Hana no Edo go-ohashi, “Five Major Bridges of Edo.” Shows a beauty on the bridge with fireworks exploding above. Fireworks became so popular in the summer that the authorities had […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1864)
Click here to view image full size. An uchiwa-e showing Sawamura Gennosuke II as Ushiwakamaru and Ichikawa Danjuro VII as Benkei battling on Gojo Bridge. In fact, this shows a dance with title Soga matsuri musashi no surimono from a play performed at the Kawarasaki-za Theatre, 5/1831. The dance is today called Hashi Benkei, “Benkei […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A chu-tanzaku showing a house swallow above a trailing yellow plant. Fine impression. Very good colour. Slight browning, otherwise very good condition. Signed Hiroshige fude. Status: Sold
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A tanzaku showing a rooster and hydrangea. Published by Kawaguchi Shozo, c. 1830s. Another impression is illustrated in Four Hundred Ukiyoe Woodblock Prints From The Museum Of Art, Rhode Island School Of Design, 1990, no. 121, p. 54. Hiroshige is best known for his landscapes, but he produced […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A chutanzaku print showing a tortoise, crab and dandelions from an untitled series of ten prints showing water creatures originally published two-to-a-sheet. Of the utmost rarity: Arguably the most difficult Kuniyoshi set to find. It appears there are only three other impressions known of this design: The Bidwell […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut fan print with title Shinkiro no zu which has a double meaning of being the Yoshiwara in the deep sea and also a chimera or mirage. The scene enclosed in a (dreaming ?) bivalve shows visitors in a watery Yoshiwara, all with fish heads. Of the […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A small tanzaku showing bats flying against a full moon above a lumberyard. A poem reads: “The colour of the bats’ wings was born in darkness.” Published c. late 1830s. Rare: Another impression is illustrated in Japanese Prints IV – Hiroshige and the Utagawa school, the Rijksmuseum, 1984, […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A chu-tanzaku showing sparrows and poppies. Published by Kawaguchiya Shozo, c. late 1830s. A poem: Tori tonde (tobite) / abunaki keshi no / hitoe kana, “ A bird flying by / poses danger to poppies / with single layers of petals.” The same poem is used on another […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A tanzaku showing a parrot perched on hanging ivy. Published c 1830s by Kawasho (Kawaguchi Shozo). Fine impression and colour. Centre fold, otherwise very good condition. Signed Hiroshige hitsu. Status: Sold
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A koi, carp (Cyprinus carpio) swimming amongst reeds. Poem by Makuzu. From the second series of ten fish prints published by Yamasho, c. 1840-42. The first series was issued privately for a poetry group (probably the Shingyoku Circle) with judges’ names and with extra poems. These prints are […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A kami, crab (Charybois), and saba, mackerel (Scomber Japonicus), together with two flowers of morning glory. Poem by Shichichintei. This is the first edition (Kruml 19a). From the second series of ten fish prints published by Yamasho, c. 1840-42. The first series was issued privately for a poetry […]
Utagawa SADAHIDE (1807-1873)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut fan print showing the two brine-gathering maidens of Suma Bay: Matsukaze “Pine Wind”and Murasame “Drops of Rain.” Published by Tsuruya Kiemon, c early 1840s. Rare. Very good impression, colour and condition. Signed Gountei Sadahide hitsu. Status: Sold
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A Java sparrow on a clematis vine. A sanchogake format (three designs printed on a horizontal sheet and intended to be separated). Published c 1835-9. Rare. Very good impression, colour and condition. Signed Hiroshige hitsu. (There is an impression with a cube-shaped red Hiroshige seal which is […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1865)
Click here to view image full size. An untrimmed fan print Fuji Tsukuba aiaigasa, “Fuji and Tsukuba Sharing an Umbrella.” A play on images and words: Shows the actors Nakamura Shikan II and the onnagata actor Iwai Kumesaburo II sharing an umbrella against the snow. Tsukuba, about 50 kilometers from Edo, was an area where […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1865)
Click here to view image full size. An untrimmed fan print Fuji Tsukuba aiaigasa, “Fuji and Tsukuba Sharing an Umbrella.” A play on images and words: Shows the actors Ichikawa Ebizo V and the onnagata actor Iwai Shijaku I sharing an umbrella against the wind. Tsukuba, about 50 kilometers from Edo, was an area where […]
Gyokurantei SADAHIDE (1807-1873)
Click here to view image full size. An uncut aizuri-e fan showing Urashima Taro astride a large turtle approaching the Dragon King’s Palace. The story relates how the fisherman rescues the turtle from some miscreant children on a beach. A few days later, while fishing, the turtle appears and rewards him by taking him to […]
Hanabusa ITCHO ( 1670-1724 )
Click here to view image full size. An original painting showing a cat cleaning itself on a precarious tea-house roof. A charming study and typical of his work which often depicted the commonplace and comical sides to life. Itcho first studied the Kano tradition, perhaps under Kano Yasunobu ( 1618-1685 ). He was also known […]
Mori TETSUZAN (1775-1841)
Click here to view image full size. A seated cat with butterflies above. Tetsuzan, the adopted son of Mori Sosen, was known for his animal paintings and was one of the ten best pupils of Okyo. Good condition. Sumi and colour on beige silk. Image size 38.25 x 14.5 inches. Mounted on brown damask with […]
Oku BUMMEI (?-1813)
Click here to view image full size. A Maruyama school artist and “One of the ten most notable pupils of Okyo.” A contributor to the anthology Keijo gaen of 1814. Shows a strolling courtesan composed of almost limpid brush strokes creating an ethereal image of the floating world. Sumi and light brown-red on paper, 41.25 […]
Ichiunsai KUNIHISA II (1832-1891)
Click here to view image full size. A fine work of the artist, c 1850s. The pupil and son-in-law of Kunisada. A beauty promenading. Sumi and full colour on silk. Image size 34 x 11.75 in; 86.5 x 29.5 cms. Fine condition. New mount and box. Signed Kunihisa ga. Seals unread. Status: Available Click here […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi and light colour on light green-coloured silk, 21.37 x 13.62 in; 51.8 x 34.7 cms. The location is unidentified but shows an inland sea with a promontory and shrine. A beautiful, lyrical landscape probably painted in Kaei era (1848-54). In good condition and has […]
Some ways to identify first and early impressions
First and early impressions best convey the intentions of the artist and publisher. High quality impressions can be identified by clear, unbroken key-block outlines, especially on any faces or title cartouches; visible wood-grain – the ‘finger print’ of every Japanese print and the depth of impression, which can often be sensed with the fingertip, especially […]
Watanabe SEITEI (1852-1918)
Click here to view image full size. A complete set of 12 paintings showing birds and plants representing the months of the year. Seitei ( Shotei ) specialised in kachoga; was famous in this area, and regarded as the leading exponent. Technically brilliant. January shows a dove on a pine tree with pine cones. February […]
Nishikawa SUKENOBU (1671-1750)
Click here to view image full size. The pre-eminent painter in the Kyoto area during the first half of the eighteenth century. He enjoyed a great reputation in his lifetime and his (over 100) illustrated books influenced many artists, not only in the Kyoto-Osaka area but also in Edo. Many of his books were published […]
Hasegawa SADANOBU II (active 1867-1880s)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting by Sadanobu II. A reclining beauty reading a book. There appears to be nothing else like this by Sadanobu, and indeed, there are very few bijin-ga prints by him. A beautiful painting. Sumi and colour on silk. Image size 13 x 9.25 inches; 33 x […]