Description
Fine polychrome woodblock print made in the Kaei Era (嘉永), that is in a period between 1848 and 1855, by the artist Koikawa Shozan (恋川笑山) and depicting a bijin (美人) beauty on a background of peony flowers (牡丹).
The print is the cover of an erotic book, entitled “Picture Book of Selected Insects: Butterfly Volume” (會本虫撰 胡蝶の巻), written and illustrated by the artist who, inside the shunpon (春本), signs with the pseudonym Tama no Mon (玉の門).
The woodcut on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the signs of aging including small holes and in particular binding holes as well as a fold mark in the lower left corner, is in fair condition.
