Original Japanese Woodblock Print of Playing Children by Katsukawa Shunsen 勝川春扇

A small Japanese black and gold lacquer suzuribako (writing box) with cartwheels in water, by the artist Hattori Toshio (1943). Of rectangular form with rounded corners, bearing a lustrous rôiro ground throughout, the exterior sides of the box and exterior of the cover finely decorated in gold and little silver takamaki-e with cartwheels flowing in a dynamically executed body of water with many swirls and gushes as well as scattered dew drops, the interior tray fitted with a rectangular ink stone and silver suiteki (waterdropper). The underside signed ‘Toshi’. With the original wooden tomobako with hakogaki reading Namikuruma makie suzuribako (The writing box set, with a design of wheels in water), as well as a leaflet written in Japanese with the artist’s biography up to 1987. Hattori Toshio (b. 1943), art name Hattori Shunsho, was first selected for the Nitten exhibition in Showa 38 (1963). Since then, he has exhibited more than twenty times at the Nitten and other exhibitions, winning numerous prestigious awards. In 1995, he had an audience with Pope John Paul II and presented the Pope with a lacquer reading table. In 2004, he created the shelves for the guest room of the Kyoto State Guest House of the Government of Japan. He is a member of the Kyoto Crafts Artists Association, the Kyoto Lacquer...

A heavy traditional bronze temple bell (bonshô), boasting a bright green patina and a resonant sound. The top handle (ryûzu), is beautifully sculpted into the form of twin dragon he...

Pair of impressive, antique kakejiku (hanging scrolls) showcasing the awe-inspiring Niô guardians, also referred to as heavenly kings. Each painting cap...

Exceptionally shaped bronze vase with a striking ‘coarse’-textured red mottled patina. The bowl subtly shaped like a flower, its slightly concave body flanked by ‘butterfly wing’-sha...

Faces (4 Faces), 1969 Tomio Kinoshita (1923-2014), Japan Woodblock print Paper, pigment, sumi ink Image: 27 high by 18.25 inches wide (68.5 by 46.4 cm) Paper size: 28 high by 19...

Tomio Kinoshita (1923 - 2014) Masks (No. 4), 1981 Woodblock print Image Size: 22 high by 31 inches wide (56 by 79 cm) Paper Size: 22.75 high by 31.5 inches wide (57.8 by 80 cm) ...

Tomio Kinoshita (1923 – 2014) Big Boys, 1960 Woodblock print Image size: 32.75 high by 22 inches wide (83 by 56 cm) Paper size: 35.5 high by 23.75 inches wide (90 by 60.3 cm) Signed: in pencil lower right, Tomio Kinoshita Titled: in pencil at lower left Edition: 30/50 Condition: Very good The woodblock for this large print was carved in 1958, just three years after Kinoshita’s began creating woodblocks. This print was signed and dated in 1960, but not numbered; prints were also pulled from this block in the 1970s, so it must have been one of more popular images. One of his students has written, “As time progressed further, the postwar era saw improvements in nutrition, and children became taller and heavier than in the past, but their lack of physical exercise and severely inferior physical abilities became a social problem; this is ironically depicted in Big Boys.” In 1963, Kinoshita told him that he had just finished pulling a print of this image in response to a request from Unichi Hiratsuka...

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858) Series: The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Upright) Number: 6 Totsuka: View of Fuji from the Mountain Road (Totsuka, Sando yori Fuji chobo) Medium: Woodblock Print Date: 1855 Format: Vertical Oban Size (H x W): 14" x 9.25" print only. Publisher: Tsutaya Kichizo Seals: Aratame and date Signature: Hiroshige hitsu...