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Could anyone tell me anything about the attached print. It's very old and has terrible foxing.

Thanks in advance,

Dave

From the text, I could barely zero-in on a name "國性爺". I wonder if this print is referring to an old Japanese play called the Battles of Coxinga. Good luck.

Keyword: 國性爺, 国姓爺

URL Title :Battles of Coxinga

Thank You Y.E. I think you are right, the print does show the image of an emperor being led into the city. I'll research the play.

Thanks again,

Dave

still seems Japanese to me despite the Chinese subject matter. Can you take clearer photos of the inscription?

It's a Japanese woodblock print of the 'uki-e' type (perspective print) ca 1810. Can't read the name of the artist. Please post a detailed image of the text and I'll be able to tell you a lot more.

Guy

Hi Guy,

I posted some better pics of the signatures in this thread.

Thanks,

Dave

Hi Rat,

Thanks for your response. I'm attaching a few jpegs to this note. The print does exhibit heavy foxing. Thanks for you help.

Dave

Y.E. and Guy are both on target; the publisher looks like a Yamaguchi somebody or other, there's an artist's name as well. Guy will be able to give you the full story.

Thanks, here is the relevant detail as promised.

Title:
Shinpan uki-e Watonai Kokusenya shiroe no zu
(Newly published perspective picture of the arrival of Watonai Kokusenya in his castle)

Signed:
‘Sawa Sekkyô ga’

Censor’s seal: ‘kiwame’ + date seal: Bunka 4, 6th month (1807, 6th month)

Publisher:
Yamaguchiya Tobei

Artist Sawa Sekkyô (cfr Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawa_Sekky%C5%8D)

Description:
Depiction of an episode of the Battles of Kokusenya (Coxinga).
Watonai is known in the West as Coxinga. He was the son of a Chinese pirate and a Japanese woman and became famous for the expulsion of the Dutch from Formosa (Taiwan) and his military commitments for the last emperor of the Ming dynasty, Chongzhen against the Manchus. He is revered as a national hero in Taiwan. This prints depicts him sitting on a tiger in a long procession, over a bridge towards Fort Zelandia in Formosa. From there,Watonai controlled the whole shore of Fujian.
The story was adapted by Chikamatsu Monzaemon for a kabuki theatre play ‘Kokusenya kassen’ (The Battles of Kokusenya or Coxinga), first staged in 1715 in Osaka (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battles_of_Coxinga).

A very rare print by a rare artist Sawa Sekkyô, one of the few really independent ‘ukiyo-e’ artists. The only other copy that I know was auctioned by Zacke in Vienna in 1986.
Take care of it.

Guy

Like.

If there was a "like" button here for your post, I would click it.

Hey Guy,

If I wanted to sell this print, how would you go about it?

Please let me know,

Dave

Difficult question in this case. Collectors, dealers and auction houses always reckon with the condition of a print (must be good to pristine). Although your print is a special one, condition seems not to be good but fair. Because of the framing, it remains also uncertain if the margins of your print were trimmed or if the paper was glued to a support. If this is the case, the market value is ruined.

In general, the market for Japanese woodblock prints is not very strong these days.
You could contact a Ukiyo-e dealer (dealer of Japanese prints) in your area or by e-mail for a further assessment, mentioning my description.

Guy.

URL Title :Ukiyo-e Dealers

Just an impulse, but there's something a bit off about the text. At first, the calligraphy look very nice, but then when comes to the "artist's name", those characters looks a bit crude and out of place...

Will keep searching.

Y.E., Guy and Rat,

Thank You so much for your research. It's really interesting.

Any advice on what to do about the foxing on the print or would the cure be worse than the ill?

Thanks again,

Dave

You could contact a reputed paper restorer in your area who is familiar with Japanese prints. Don't try it on your own! The expert will take the print out of the frame and desinfect the paper - the effect of the foxing could be tempered. Bear in mind that a print from that period has natural and vegetal pigments for coloring which makes it more vulnerable for conservation.

Cfr also link below:

URL Title :Care and Repair of Japanese Prints

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