Beauty with a Pipe

Shunga - Shunga is a Japanese term for erotic pictures. Some scholars believe that the first shunga were inspired by Chinese medical manuals. Shunga prints grew in popularity in the early 18th century and the production of shunga peaked in the golden age of the print period in the late 19th century. Many ukiyo-e artists did shunga in addition to their normal specialties. The works sold well and, often at higher prices than the normal genre. So, artists had an incentive to delve into the realm of shunga. Often of very high quality and with great sensitivity to the subject, the best artists produced shunga of remarkable beauty. Shunga were rarely signed as collectors in the field know. Some of the noted artists in the field were Moronobu, Hokusai, Shigenobu and the great Utamaro.

Beauties from Historical Shunga - These attractive okubi-e or large head portraits of beauties come from a multi-volume book written about historical shunga by Hayashi Yoshikazu. First published in the 1960s as "Ehon Kenkyu," it features separate volumes on shunga prints by major ukiyo-e artists. It was updated and released as "Edo Makura-eshi Shusei" in 1989. Some of these designs originally appeared as frontispieces to shunga albums. An interesting group, nicely detailed.

Woodblock reprints - In the 20th century, artists and publishers collaborated to recreate famous woodblock prints for interested Japanese collectors and Westerners looking for rare designs. New blocks were made, and the prints were painstakingly printed by artisan printers in the same method as the 19th century originals - one block for each color. Woodblock reprints were an opportunity to collect and enjoy a famous design at a small fraction of the price of an original. They still are today.

Artist - Edo era artist (unsigned)

Image Size - 7" x 5 1/4" + margins as shown

Condition - Excellent detail. Toning.