There are Many Items on Ebay which are Called Original Japanese Woodblock Prints but finding One that is Described Accurately is Not always an Easy Task. I have Tried to Write an Over View of Japanese Woodblocks which will Help buyers to Distingiush Genuine Japanese Woodblock Prints, and Authenticate Original Woodblocks from Miss Described Modern Reproductions.
WHAT IS A WOODBLOCK PRINT ?
A Woodblock Print is Created by Carving the required design onto a piece of wood, coating the finished "blocks" with paint or dye and then rubbing the paper or textile which is to be patterned onto the woodblock to transfer the design. Where more than one colour is required more woodblocks need to be carved with the shapes of the different coloured portions raised in order to transfer the coloured ink to the correct places on the paper.
The best ways to see if a picture is a woodblock print is by first looking at the coloured areas and outlines with a very strong magnifying glass. If the picture is a photographic copy you will see tiny dots over all the surface. If there are no dots it is either a painting, an engraving or lithograph of some sort, a screen print or a woodblock.
A Woodblock Print will have what is Called Bleed Through on the Reverse Side where most of the colours and outlines of the scene can be distinguished. It will also have tiny indentations in the Washi where the outlines of the actual woodblock carving has been Impressed into the Paper.
SELLERS: Remember if you want to MAINTAIN ANY INTEGRITY it is your RESPONSIBILITY to BE CERTAIN your is a GENUINE WOODBLOCK PRINT and the PROVIDE ADEQUATE EVIDENCE of your ASCERTAIN that it is an ORIGINAL. BUYERS: If a seller does not do this in their description ask to see extra pictures of the back to find Bleed Through or ask for more details to find out if it is Genuine. If the Seller fails to do so DO NOT BID ON THE ITEM.
The Woodblock Schools of Japan used a paper called Washi, created from the bark of Mulberry Trees as this is very strong and water proof. Some of The Great Historical Schools of Woodblock Artists are known as:
The Primitives, including artists like Moronobu, Norfusa and SukenobuThe Torii School, including Harunobu, Kiyomasu and Shigenobu.The Utagawa School, including the Founder Utagawa Toyoharu (1735 to 1814), Toyokuni, One, Two and Three, the last also known as Kunisada, Hiroshige (The First), Kunichika and Kuniyasu.The Osaka School, including Yoshitaki, Shuntei and Ashihiro.The Yokohama Artists, including Yoshikazi, Kunimaru, Yoshitoshi and both Hiroshige the Second and the Third.There are many other artists in each of these schools and other schools but this Guide is only meant to be a basic reference and so it is impossible to go into greater detail.
In the First half of the Twentieth Century a Number of Artists Created a new form of Woodblock Prints and these were known as the Shin Hanga Movement. Some of these woodblock are among the most collectable and can be found in excellent condition. The most desirable among this group are the artists Tokuriki Tomikichiro, Kawase Hasui and Tsuchiya Koitsu.
The training of a Woodblock Artist consisted of Teaching the student how to create pictures which were able to be transformed into a woodblock print without loosing their basic form, perspective and detail and this is not such an easy thing to do. So the great artists were, and still are, extremely highly regarded for not only their artistic taste and creativity but also for the way in which they could interpret a scene specifically for use as a woodblock print.
HOW TO AUTHENTICATE AN ORIGINAL JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINT
There are a large number of Antique and Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints available on Ebay and for the beginner it can be very confusing when trying to distinguish between an Original Woodblock and a Later Reproduction.
The term Original, when used in describing a Japanese Print, means1. It Was Designed by the Artist whose signature appears on the Print2. It Was Printed and Published During that Artist's Lifetime.
For example if a Print is Described as an Original Hiroshige Then it Must Have a Recorded Signature of that Famous Artist and have been Printed and Published During his Lifetime. Remember that there is Hiroshige then there is Hiroshige the Second and Third and if someone describes a woodblock as an Original Hiroshige it must be the work of the First Hiroshige other wise it is incorrectly described.
Ando Hiroshige was born in Edo in 1797 and Died in 1858. When he was 12 Years Old both his Parents Died and Two Years later he Joined the Famous Utagawa Painting School under Toyohiro Utagawa. In 1812 he was given permission to use the Utagawa name in conjunction with his own. Hiroshige created a very large number of landscape prints, in a number of different series so once a solid reference base which includes all the individual prints in all of these series is found it is not difficult to distinguish Genuine Original Prints from the thousands of later reproductions.
His signature is easy to recognize and did not take many different forms although it is almost the same as those his students Hiroshige Two and Three used after his death.The work of the latter Hiroshiges is however very easy to recognize, even when they were recreating some of his landscape series as their drawing and perspective is much different and the later, aniline colours that were used in the printing process are obvious.
Less easy for the layman are the many thousands of Twentieth Century reproductions of his landscape series which have been re-carved by modern day wood carvers and are still re-carved today. It is these reproductions that are most often miss described and falsely represented which are likely to lure an unsuspecting purchaser into thinking they have found an Original when in fact it is a poor imitation.
All of Hiroshige's famous series have been documented and many can be found on the internet. On one site the Famous 53 Stations of the Tokaido Trail series can be seen in its 13 different versions dating between 1831 and 1857 and if someone is looking at a Hiroshige woodblock it is an easy matter to check the authenticity by searching this site for the appropriate series and comparing the individual print. Make sure to check every detail from the exact size and format to the signature, publishers mark and any censor seals. Also be assured that the colours of Original Woodblocks from these series can not be compared to later reproductions.
AN ADEQUATE DESCRIPTION OF THIS ORIGINAL JAPANESEWOODBLOCK PRINT HIROSHIGE 1830s would Include This Original Japanese Woodblock Print By Hiroshige is Shows Kameyama, Station 47, of his Famous Series The Fifty Three Stations of the Tokaido Trail. It is From the Kyoka Edition, Published by Samoki in the Late 1830s and this Publishers Mark can be seen in the Bottom of the Left Margin. It Must also Include the Exact Size.
These later woodblock copies are still Woodblock Prints but they are NOT ORIGINAL Hiroshige woodblocks and so their value and importance is minimal, collectable appeal virtually nil and their decorative worth mediocre.
Another Very Popular and Highly Collectable Artist is Utagawa Kunisada. He was born in the Honjo district of Edo in 1786. He entered the school of Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769-1825), the leading actor-print designer of his time, around 1800 as apprentice in the age of fourteen. His first printed works began to appear in late 1807. When Toyokuni II died in 1835, ten years after the master, Kunisada was entitled to use the name Toyokuni III and his recorded signatures in versions sometimes with both names number over 200. Not all have so far been documented. He was one of the most highly respected artists of his time and he died in 1865. An Original Kunisada Woodblock must bear One of the Signatures Kunisada Used During his Lifetime and Must Have Been Published During his Lifetime. One excellent site where a great number of his signatures have been documented and arranged in chronological order is entitled The Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) Project. This site has a vast amount of information about this artist and his work and is invaluable for anyone interested in his prints.
Once the signature is identified as being described correctly then one must establish how old the print is. In some cases this can be done once the signature is found as many examples were used only for short periods of time. If the signature is a common one or he used it for a longer period then the age must be found from translating the censors seal or finding a date on the woodblock. The first option is the simplest but both require adequate reference material.
Detail of a Kunisada Signature Seen in the Red Ground Toshidama Cartouche reads Toyokuni Ga and alongside this Signature is the Round Aratame, meaning Examined, Censors Seal used between 1853 and 1857. Below this Seal is the Trademark for the Publisher Yamamotoya Heikichi.
One reputable book on Japanese prints is entitled "The Prints of Japan" written by Frank A Turk, first published by Arco Publications in 1966 but there are many others. Be sure when searching for books on the subject that that the table of contents suits your reference needs and the book is published by a professional publishing company. A self published book lacks credibility as there has been noqualified editing and so much information may be erroneous.
The only other way to establish the age is by finding similar prints on the internet and trying to match the signature and censors seal or seals of the woodblock are you trying to authenticate.
COMMON MISS DESCRIPTIONS ON EBAY
When looking at Woodblocks on Ebay check first the date, if one is given in the title or description. Some sellers will call an item Original Hiroshige then date it at C1880, C1910 or some date later than 1858. This is an obvious deceit as Hiroshige died in 1858 and shows the seller is purposely trying to miss describe the item or has no knowledge of the subject. Others will call it Original in the title and in the description say it is an Original "in the style of", "after" or "by"some artist then either do not provide a date of publication or Date it Later than the artists death. This also is obviously a Deceptive description.
Other items will be described as Showa Era - this is the period between 1926 and 1988 - then call it an original with the name of an artist who died 70 to 100 years earlier.
Still other sellers call an item a Woodblock Print and then justify their description by saying that the picture has a piece of paper attached to the back which says it is a woodblock by a certain artist. STAY AWAY FROM THESE SELLERS or only pay very small amounts for the item and expect to be disappointed as you will most likely receive a photographic copy.
SOME SELLERS PUT WOODBLOCK PRINT IN THE TITLE AND THEN WHEN ONE READS THE DESCRIPTION ADMIT TO IT BEING A PHOTOGRAPHIC REPRODUCTION. These Sellers are Obviously Trying toEntice Buyers who Do Not Read the Entire desciption and should Really Be Forced to Change Their Title and List their Item in A Different Category.
ONLY BUY FROM SELLERS who describe the Actual Woodblock they are Selling FULLY explaining Where the Artists Signature and Censors Seals Appear on the Print, The Era the Signature was Used and the Dates of the Censors Seal or Seals. When the Woodblock is from a Series they Should Also Provide the Series, The Original Publisher and the date of Publication.
Genuine Original Japanese Woodblock Prints from the 19th Century can be found on Ebay for Less than 100 UK Pounds and Even on Retail Internet Sites they are seen from between 100 and 300 UK Pounds so it is False Economy to Buy Copies. The main thing when looking at Japanese Woodblock prints is to RESEARCH the Artist, Know the Era His Life and Understand that these woodblocks are between 100 and 180 years old CAN NOT be in AS NEW condition or if by some very rare occurrence they have survived for so long with no-one ever looking at them they will be worth more money.
OTHER COLLECTIBLE WOODBLOCK ARTISTS
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