Anonymous Artists


Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19th/early 20th century17 albums leaves bound in orihon (concertina-fold) format, ten in pairs forming a two-page spread and seven on the left-hand side of a two-fold spread, ink, colours, and gold on silk mounted on gold-flecked paper, with gold-flecked endpapers and covers of printed cloth on board with floral designs and a blank title slip, depicting couples and groups engaged in lovemaking, two of them with poems, the majority of the scenes each by one of probably two artists, one smaller leaf by a third artist, one scene depicting the tragic seventeenth-century lovers Ohana and Hanshichi, with Hanshichi inscribing his name on Ohana's left thigh. Overall: 21.5cm x 27.5cm (8½in x 10¾in); 14 images: 18.5cm x 24.3cm (7¼in x 9½in); two images: 17.5cm x 23.5cm (6 7/8in x 9¼in); one image: 12.4cm x 17.1cm (4 7/8in x 6¾in).