THE SHIPOWNER’S DAUGHTER (Eigyoku)

N.1 kuchi-e woodblock print
Year: 1920 ca.
Condition: fair
Size: 22 x 29,5 cm

SOLD

Description

Poignant polychrome woodblock print of the kuchi-e (口絵) type, dating back to the Taisho era (大正時代) and inspired by a Japanese legend in which a shipowner’s daughter sacrificed herself, jumping off the ship, to calm a raging sea.

The work, which is extremely refined, was made as the frontispiece of a novel by an artist active around 1920, who is signed with the pseudonym Eigyoku (英玉) and whose biography is almost unknown.

The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙) shows evident signs of aging and in particular wrinkles and imperfections on the margins.