An unusual original antique woodblock from Kyoto. There are four pages. (two pages on each side of the woodblock). And four illustrations, hand carved images of a Japanese woman with different hairstyles and hair ornaments. There are also two carved faces on the back side which we think were originally a different color, probably white. The four written pages are describing the different hairstyles and hair ornaments in the illustrations. Ood blocks were the only way the Japanese knew to print documents / books or pictures until the late 1800’s. After that they went to movable type and lithographs. Often these woodblocks would be used and then eventually the wood would be planed down and used / carved again for something else. This was because having the right kind of tight grained seasoned Japanese cherry wood was valuable. Consequently there are not a lot of these around, most of them eventually being destroyed. Also because most of Japan’s cities were burned during WW2, this would have resulted in a lot of them disappearing also. Most printing was done in the cities. When these were made a calligrapher would be called to do the writing / design. The wood carvers would then copy that writing / design exactly. (So it would print correctly) These are a work of art and skill. This is a relatively rare item. We have a small personal collection we are listing. It’s 11 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches (28.5 28.5 cm) and 3/4 inch thick (2 cm). The item “ANTIQUE MEIJI ERA JAPANESE HAND CARVED HANGI WOODBLOCK 4 Pages & Illustrations” is in sale since Monday, September 13, 2021. This item is in the category “Antiques\Asian Antiques\Japan\Prints”. The seller is “lsjapanstuff” and is located in Alhambra, California. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Type: Paintings
- Region of Origin: Japan
- Featured Refinements: Japanese Woodblock Print
- Age: 1870-1910
- Primary Material: Wood
- Original/Reproduction: Antique Original
