Ooka Shunboku’s woodblock, “Dragon (Ryu)”, 1750

Ooka Shunboku 大岡春卜 (1680–1763)

The British Museum offers the following biographical details of this artist: “Famous Kano School artist in Osaka in the 18th century. He was awarded a 'hokkyo' rank before 1720, and ascended to 'hogen' in 1735” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG5958).

“Dragon (Ryu)” 竜,  1749/50, two woodblock prints joined to form a single image and backed with a support sheet that were originally pages 12 and13 from the first volume, “Kan ryū no bu” 漢流之部 和漢名画苑, of six books, “Wakan Meigaen” 和漢名画苑“ (A Garden of Celebrated Japanese and Chinese Paintings), published in Osaka by Ōnogi Ichibei 大野木市兵衛, in Edo by Suhara Mohei 須原茂兵衛 and in Kyoto by Kōnan Shirōuemon 河南四郎右衛門.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers an online view of the pages in the first volume in which this diptych features (https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16028coll7/id/17533/rec/6) as well as the pages of the five other volumes: https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/search/searchterm/2013.817a.

See also the description of the first volume held by the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1938-1008-0-2-1. 

Size: (sheet) 23.4 x 32.5 cm.

Condition: both plates are strong impressions glued at the centre image borderlines with the back of the sheets being retained (hence there is darkening at the centre of the diptych). There are restorations, holes and surface discolouration, but they are not overly distracting. The assembly of the prints has been laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper providing larger margins.

I am selling this visually powerful and arresting woodblock diptych, showing the celestial dragon, Ryu, energising the sea to bring balance from chaos—my apologies if I am wrong about this!—for AU$420 in total (currently US$302.31/EUR267.46/GBP222.46 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this woodblock masterwork executed in 1750 by one of the major artists of the Kano School in the 18^th century, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.