Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries

Hi, i found these two woodblocks at a local shop. They seem old to me and wandering if they could be original. I would be very grateful if anyone could translate the inscriptions.

Thank you and best regards,
Niels (Holland)

You will know if it is a print or original by looking through a 40-80x microscope.

The caption reads "May 1st of MingZhi Year. Printed May 3rd of the same year. Print and Published by XXX"

Your first print is by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and is from his series 'Fūzoku Sanjūnisō (風俗 三十二相)', or '32 Aspects of Customs and Manners' or '32 Aspects of Daily Life' (to translate the title accurately), or '32 Aspects of Women' (as it is often more usually known now). Its title is: Dangerous: Habits of a modern geisha of the Meiji era. I haven't seen copies of Yoshitoshi prints. This is an original.

See link below and scroll to the bottom #28/#19.

The second print is by Utamaro. I'll do a little research when I get more time.

Cheers,
Stan

URL Title :Habits of a modern geisha

Thank you for your replies! this is really helpfull!

best regards,
Niels

The Utamaro print is titled: Young Woman Seated On Veranda, printed in 1798. I found one at the Art Institute of Chicago. See link below.

Cheers,
Stan

URL Title :Woman Seated On Veranda

I did a quick compare of your Utamaro print vs the Art Institute of Chicago one. Given the limits of two pictures with limited detail, I don't see anything that would make me think that your print is not original. As you can see, yours is in pretty rough condition.

See link below for do-it-yourself instructions.

Cheers,
Stan

URL Title :Authenticating Prints

Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries |