JAPANESE ART > ABUNA-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS > CARPENTER AND MISTRESS

Lot 00855
N.1 abuna-e woodblock print

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

CARPENTER AND MISTRESS

Year: 1837
Condition: fair
Size: 27,5 x 22 cm

SOLD

Refined double-page woodblock printed illustration made by the artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳), who signs with the pseudonym Hodoyoshi (程よし) the byobu (屏風) screen depicting Mount Fuji (富士山). A carpenter and his mistress are preparing grilled mochi (餅) and indulge in a mischievous conversation which, inspired by the hair removal of the back of the woman's neck, ends with considerations on the size of the man's virility. A cat, inserted by Kuniyoshi with a humorous intent, seems bothered by the frivolity of the arguments while, in the garden, the flowers of a plum tree (梅) are blooming.

The print is taken from vol. 3 (下) of an erotic shunga (春画) work made by the artist in collaboration with Kujiritei Sanehiko (九尻亭佐寝彦), pseudonym of the famous writer Ryutei Tanehiko (柳亭種彦), and entitled "Colors of Spring: A Record Book of Ships Entering the Harbor" (春色入船帳).

The work, produced by the publisher Tsuruya Kiemon (鶴屋喜右衛門), owner of Senkakudo (僊鶴堂), despite the right signs of aging and the obvious imperfections on the margins, is in overall fair condition.

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