JAPANESE ART > UKIYO-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS > VIEWING A WATERFALL

Lot 00813
N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print

Mizuno Toshikata

VIEWING A WATERFALL

Year: 1893
Condition: good
Size: 23,5 x 35 cm

SOLD

Fine large vertical format original woodblock print, taken from the series "Thirty-six Elegant Selections" (三十六佳撰) by the artist Mizuno Toshikata (水野年方). The work, produced in September 1893 by the publisher Akiyama Buemon (秋山武右衛門), owner of Kokkeido (滑稽堂), is entitled "Viewing a Waterfall: Women of the Jokyo Era" (観瀑 貞享頃婦人).

A samurai and two bijin (美人) beauties, during an excursion, pause to look at a waterfall. Japanese culture attributes to the waterfalls a significant symbolic and religious value: these in fact, as well as the forests or the mountain tops, are believed to be the natural home of the kami (神) deities and, often, are part of the sacred sites and routes of pilgrimage.

The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite some signs of aging including slight stains, is in overall good condition.

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