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Japanese Woodblock Prints and Portfolio c.1890-1945 RARE & EARLY!

Currency:USD Category:Art / Region - Asian Start Price:750.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Japanese Woodblock Prints and Portfolio c.1890-1945 RARE & EARLY!
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Early Japanese Loose Woodblock Prints c.1890 by Kunchika and possibly others.
c.1890. Toyohara Kunichika (Japanese: 豊原 国周; 30 June 1835 – 1 July 1900) was a Japanese woodblock print artist. Talented as a child, at about thirteen he became a student of Tokyo's then-leading print maker, Utagawa Kunisada. His deep appreciation and knowledge of kabuki drama led to his production primarily of yakusha-e, which are woodblock prints of kabuki actors and scenes from popular plays of the time.
An alcoholic and womanizer, Kunichika also portrayed women deemed beautiful (bijinga), contemporary social life, and a few landscapes and historical scenes. He worked successfully in the Edo period, and carried those traditions into the Meiji period. To his contemporaries and now to some modern art historians, this has been seen as a significant achievement during a transitional period of great social and political change in Japan's history. (Wikimedia 2025)
The lose prints are comprised of 3 groups.
Group 1: 4 Single plates, a lady with 8 knives in her hair about 9.5-14 inches.
Group 2: 2 double trucks (double plates) and 2 single plates of two ladies in red.
Group 3: Single double truck with a lady at right with 3 knives in her hair.
This lot also includes a woodblock print portfolio:
Twelve Months of Kyoto c.1945 by Tomichiro Tokuriki (1902-1999) Tokuriki was a renowned Japanese printmaker. This group contains portions of what must have been, three different printing of the same set. Of the original 12, only #1 and #12 are missing. Included in a 4 page folio information pamphlet in English regarding the making of Japanese prints by Uchida, the publisher of the prints. This group has 18 original prints, each of which appears to be very popular in online art markets.
Remarkable lot of rare, early Japanese woodblock prints. Recommend further research and professional restoration/archive.