Masters of the Woodblock: Important Japanese Prints
Masters of the Woodblock: Important Japanese Prints
The Property of a Gentleman
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) | A western pocket watch | Edo period, 19th century
Lot Closed
July 21, 01:31 PM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 14,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
The Property of a Gentleman
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
A western pocket watch
Edo period, 19th century
woodblock print, surimono, embellished with gold and metallic pigments, from the album the Spring Rain Collection (Harusame shu), volume three, signed Oju Hiroshige sha (Pictured by Hiroshige, by request), privately issued in 1823
Surimono, shikishiban: 20.9 x 18.6 cm., 8¼ x 7⅜ in.
Both kyoka poems have been translated in Theodore Robert Bowie and James T. Kenney, Art of the Surimono, exh. cat., (Bloomington, 1979), p. 52, no. 22:
The first kyoka by Shihan Hohi, which appears to have derived from a poem by the Sung dynasty poet Su Shih (1037-1101) reads:
Spring is lavishly praised
With flowers and bids;
Who sets the value
"Priceless" for a moment
Of its evening?
Hana tori ni
haru ha soyasare
senkin to
tare ka netsukeshi
yoi no ikkoku
The second kyoka by Hachigen-tei Katashiro reads:
This is an importation
From the red-haired country,
A watch that measures
The length
Of a Spring day
Komo no
watari mono nare
haru no hi no
ashi no nagasa o
hakaru tokei so
For a similar impression of the same print in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET), accession number JP2349, go to:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/60025264
For a further impression in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums, object number 1933.4.2014, go to: