Fine Japanese Prints
Fine Japanese Prints
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) | Horikiri Iris Garden (Horikiri no hanashobu) | Edo period, 19th century
Lot Closed
December 16, 03:40 PM GMT
Estimate
3,000 - 4,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
Horikiri Iris Garden (Horikiri no hanashobu)
Edo period, 19th century
woodblock print, from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei), signed Hiroshige ga (Pictured by Hiroshige), censor’s seal aratame (certified), published by Uoya Eikichi, intercalary 5th month 1857
Vertical oban: 35.5 x 23.9 cm., 14 x 9⅜ in.
This design depicts the public garden at Horikiri, said to have the most beautiful irises in the city. As in a number of other prints from this series, Hiroshige uses a device of placing large objects in the foreground and smaller objects or figures in the background to create a sense of depth. Here, the viewer is looking through the irises, over a stream and towards other visitors in the distance enjoying the flowers - which bloom in early to mid-summer.
For a similar impression of the same print in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession number 11.16827, go to: