JAPANESE ART > UKIYO-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS > MAISAKA BEAUTY

Lot 00687
N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print

Keisai Eisen

MAISAKA BEAUTY

Period: 1840s
Condition: good
Size: 25,5 x 37 cm

SOLD

Important original woodblock print of large vertical format taken from the series "Tokaido Beauties" (美人東海道) by the artist Keisai Eisen (渓斎英泉) and depicting a young bijin (美人) intent on making some "anesama ningyo" (姉様人形), that is the "big sister dolls" made with washi paper (和紙) and origami (折り紙) paper: a toy very popular among the daughters of rich merchants and samurai during the Edo period (江戸時代).

The girl is paired with Maisaka (舞坂驛), the thirtieth of the fifty-three stations of the Tokaido located in today's Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県), on the eastern shores of Lake Hamana (浜名湖) that travelers crossed to reach Arai (新居), the next station.

The rare woodblock print, produced in the 1840s by the publisher Tsutaya Kichizo (蔦屋吉蔵) owner of Koeido (紅英堂), despite the right signs of aging and some imperfections including small restorations and a tiny woodworm hole in the lower right, is in good general condition.

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