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Keisai EISEN (1790-1848)
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An amorous couple on a balcony with a large full moon. One of the three best designs from a set of twelve prints: Keisei higo, “Secret Words of a Courtesan” published c 1822-25. Although the set comes under the shunga heading, each print is an abuna-e design, without any graphic detail. Fine composition.
Fine impression and colour. Laid onto board from the original album. Small wormage and slight centre fold ( as usual ), otherwise good condition.
Status: Sold
Keisai EISEN (1790-1848)
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A winter scene with an amorous couple in a boat keeping warm beneath a huge duvet. One of the three best designs from a set of twelve prints: Keisei higo, “Secret Words of a Courtesan” published c 1822-25. Although the set comes under the shunga heading, each print is an abuna-e design, without any graphic detail.
Fine impression and colour. Laid onto board from the original album. Small wormage and slight centre fold ( as usual ), otherwise good condition.
Status: Sold
Okumura MASANOBU (c.1686-1764)
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A major artist attributed with the invention of the hashira-e and uki-e and who may have been the first to change from hand colouring to colour printing. Tera no kashi, “Sweets From a Temple” from Masanobu’s most highly regarded shunga set: Someiro no yama neya no hinagata, “Mountains of Dyed Colours, Examples of Bedrooms.” Published c. 1735. Sub-title: Sato Kosho sai, Kichisaburo. Shows a young monk copulating with a beauty in the vicinity of a temple. Hence the punning title. Four other illustrations from this set illustrated in Shunga, Tom and Mary Evans, 1975, 5.64 – 5.67. Extremely rare.
Very good impression. Careful contemporary hand colouring ( as all prints for this series ). The red pigment with gum added. Centre fold ( as per usual ) with repair at top edge. Slight soil, otherwise very good condition for this period. Unsigned.
Status: Sold
OSAKA SCHOOL (c.1830)
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A complete set of twelve oban shunga prints. Printed with sumi outline blocks only, omitting the colour blocks and coloured by hand instead. Extensive details hand applied and with grey mica grounds and other areas with mica. This set was either a special one-off commission for a valued client or one set of a deluxe edition for clients who were willing to pay considerably more than for the printed version: It obviously took much longer to colour by hand. There are other examples of this in ukiyoe with prints and books. For an illustration of one design from the printed commercial edition see: Shunga, Marco Fagioli, Musee d’Ixelles – Museum van Elsene, 1989, cat. 84, p. 128. Probably unrecorded. Six prints ( of twelve ) illustrated.
Centre folds ( as per usual ). Some soil and edge damage on one or two designs. Unsigned.
Status: Sold
Okumura MASANOBU (1686-1764)
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A pair of lovers. Obviously one sheet from a shunga album. A sumizuri-e print with careful hand-colouring. Although possibly not contemporary the colouring certainly has considerable age. Published c 1710s.
Very good impression. Slight offsetting of sumi and other minor soil and backed wormholes. Centre fold.
Status: Sold
Unsigned Shunga (Attributed to Utagawa KUMINAO)
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Three volumes complete. Shunkei otogi bunko, “Erotic Bedrooms, A Collection of Fairy Tales”. Original covers and title slips. Published circa early 1850s.
Very fine impressions and colour, very good condition.
Status: Sold
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Unsigned Shunga (Attributed to Ichiyusai KUNIYOSHI)
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Three volumes complete. Shunshoku koi no kakehashi, “A Bridge of Love”. Original covers and title slips. Published circa late 1840s.
Very fine impressions and colour, very good condition.
Status: Sold
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Unsigned Shunga (Attributed to Keisai EISEN)
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Three volumes complete. Koi murasaki, “Purple Love”. Original covers and title slips. Published circa early 1840s.
Very fine impressions and colour, one wormhole on one volume, otherwise very good condition throughout.
Status: Sold
Isoda KORYUSAI (fl.c.1764-1788)
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Two complete koban sets of twelve prints each showing loving couples. Two double pages shown from each album.
Minor soil and one stain, but otherwise very good impression, colour and condition.
Status: Sold
