BUDDHA’S BIRTHDAY (Toyohara Chikanobu)

N.1 triptych of ukiyo-e woodblock prints
Year: 1896
Condition: very good
Size: 70,5 x 35,5 cm

SOLD

Description

It is April 8th and the ladies of Edo Castle (江戸城) are celebrating the birth of Gautama Buddha. On the right of the scene one of the women is praying in front of a small statue which, evoking the legend of the birth of Buddha, is pointing to heaven with his right arm and, with the left arm, to the earth. On the left we see, instead, the stalls that were set up for the occasion by the best merchants in the country and where the ladies could buy books, ceramics, fabrics, cosmetics, etc.

The precious triptych of woodblock prints, made in March 1896 by the artist Toyohara Chikanobu (豊原周延) and produced by the publisher Fukuda Hatsujiro (福田初次郎), owner of Gusokuya (具足屋), is entitled “The Buddha Festival” (釈迦もうで) and is taken from the series “Chiyoda Inner Palace” (千代田之大奥).

The prints on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the right signs of aging, are in very good general condition, thanks also to an effective relining carried out on the back.