KITAGAWA UTAMARO: A GROUP OF THREE WOODBLOCK PRINT ALBUMS KITAGAWA UTAMARO: A GROUP OF THREE WOODBLOCK PRINT ALBUMS By Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) Japan, 1798 Woodblock print albums. Ink and color on paper. Each ehon (picture book) sewn together and containing various illustrations. This set consists of Vol. 3, Vol. 4, and Vol. 5 of the same series. Illustrating scenes from everyday life. Dimensions: 22.7 x 15.9 cm (each) Condition: Overall good condition with minor wear and slight browning of paper. Some fading, minor stains, wear to the covers, loose threads with some associated loose pages, few tears, and some creasing. Provenance: Estate of Wolfgang Zacke (1942-2022), co-founder of Galerie Zacke, thence by descent.

Estimate 150 - 300 EUR

Starting price 150 EUR

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For sale on Wednesday 04 Sep : 11:00 (CEST)

vienna, Austria

Galerie Zacke
+4315320452

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A SCROLL PAINTING OF A BIJIN IN THE RAIN, AFTER KITAGAWA UTAMARO, c. 1900s A SCROLL PAINTING OF A BIJIN IN THE RAIN, AFTER KITAGAWA UTAMARO, c. 1900s Japan, late 19th to early 20th century Ink, watercolors, and gouache on paper. Mounted as a hanging scroll on a silk brocade frame with stag antler handles. Depicting a beauty in the rain unravelling her umbrella, her hair wrapped in a shawl, the corner of which she clutches between her lips. Inscriptions: Signed ‘Utamaro hitsu’ 歌麿筆 with seal. Image SIZE 77 x 27.5 cm, SIZE incl. mounting 158 x 30 cm Condition: Wear, losses, crackling, flaking, creasing, folds, and soiling. Some restorations. The mounting with wear and age. With a wood tomobako storage box. (3) Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806) is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings and is best known for his bijin okubi-e (large-headed pictures of beautiful women) of the 1790s. He also produced nature studies, particularly illustrated books of insects. Little is known of Utamaro's life. His work began to appear in the 1770s, and he rose to prominence in the early 1790s with his portraits of beauties with exaggerated, elongated features. He produced over 2000 known prints and was one of the few ukiyo-e artists to achieve fame throughout Japan in his lifetime.

Lot 821

Estim. 350 - 700 EUR

UTAMARO II: YAMATO YOSHINO RIVER RAFTERS UTAMARO II: YAMATO YOSHINO RIVER RAFTERS By Kitagawa Utamaro II, signed Utamaro hitsu Japan, c. 1810 Color woodblock print on paper. Horizontal oban. Signed Utamaro hitsu; publisher Nishimuraya Yohachi. Titled Yamato Yoshinogawa Ikadashi (Yamato Yoshino River Rafters), from the series Shokoku meisho fukei (Places of Famous Landscapes). Illustrating women crossing the Yoshino River in Yamato Province on wooden rafts paddled by young boys. SIZE of the sheet 35.8 x 23.4 cm Condition: Old wear, soiling, and browning of paper. Minor creasing to the edges, few tiny tears and wormholes, trimmed margins, all backed by Japan paper. Mounted on a paper passepartout. Koikawa Harumachi II (fl. circa 1810's-1830's) was the most renowned pupil of Utamaro I. He adopted the name Utamaro II after marrying Utamaro (I)’s widow in 1806.

Lot 822

Estim. 6 000 - 12 000 EUR

KITAGAWA UTAMARO: A LADY AND CHILD PLAYING WITH A CAT, EX-COLLECTION FREDDIE MERCURY KITAGAWA UTAMARO: A LADY AND CHILD PLAYING WITH A CAT, EX-COLLECTION FREDDIE MERCURY By Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806), signed Utamaro hitsu Japan, c. 1803 Color woodblock print on paper. Vertical oban. Signed Utamaro hitsu; publisher Iwatoya Kisaburo (Eirindo). Title Warau Kado niwa Fuku kitaru (Fortune Comes to the Home of Those Who Smile), from the series Kodakana tatoe no fushi (Precious Children as the Basis for Proverbs). In this domestic scene, a young woman sits in front of a screen decorated with red birds on a blossoming branch as her little son plays with a cat, teasing the feline with a bow attached to a long string. Image SIZE 36.7 x 25.5 cm, SIZE incl. frame 59.2 x 44.5 cm Condition: Very good condition with wear and light creasing to the edges. Gently mounted on a paper passepartout. Provenance: Sotheby’s, Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own – In Love with Japan, 11 September 2023, London, lot 1010 . From the collection of Freddie Mercury (Farrokh Bulsara, 1946-1991). Freddie Mercury, universally acclaimed singer of the legendary rock band Queen, developed a profound passion for the country of Japan during his first of many visits while on tour in 1975. Six further tours would take him to Japan, before he first came on his own in 1986, touring museums and buying traditional lacquerware. From then on, he delighted in filling his Kensington home with rare and beautiful antiques and fine objects, such as the present woodblock print, and developed substantial academic expertise in the history of Japan’s culture and craft through the ages. He became an enthusiastic cultural advocate, once saying, “I loved it there: the lifestyle, the people, the art. Wonderful!” Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806) is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings and is best known for his bijin okubi-e (large-headed pictures of beautiful women) of the 1790s. He also produced nature studies, particularly illustrated books of insects. Little is known of Utamaro's life. His work began to appear in the 1770s, and he rose to prominence in the early 1790s with his portraits of beauties with exaggerated, elongated features. He produced over 2000 known prints and was one of the few ukiyo-e artists to achieve fame throughout Japan in his lifetime. Museum comparison: A closely related print, from the same series, is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession number 21.6621. A closely related print, from the same series, is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession number 21.6493. A related print depicting a woman and cat is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number JP1672. Auction comparison: Compare a related print, by the same artist and also ex-collection Freddie Mercury, at Sotheby’s, Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own, In Love with Japan, 11 September 2013, London, lot 1016 ( sold for GBP 13,970). Compare a related print depicting a courtesan and cat, by the same artist, at Christie’s, Japanese and Korean Art, 18 April 2018, New York, lot 31 ( sold for USD 37,500).

Lot 823

Estim. 150 - 300 EUR

KITAGAWA UTAMARO: A LOT WITH TWO WOODBLOCK PRINTS KITAGAWA UTAMARO: A LOT WITH TWO WOODBLOCK PRINTS By Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1754–1806) Japan, c. 1790s-1800s, Edo period (1615-1868) Color woodblock prints on paper. Vertical oban. 1. One sheet of triptych. Signed Utamaro hitsu. Titled Women Engaged in the Sericulture Industry. Depicting stages of silk production by female workers: stretching silk and floss on posts, hanging them on a line. SIZE of the sheet 36.7 x 25.2 cm Utamaro's fundamental curiosity about women was not limited to any one group or activity. In this print, he shows us women working in silk production, an important occupation for women and an important part of the Edo economy. Its composition reads more like a tableau vivant, with the workers merely suggesting their activities. 2. Signed Toyokuni ga. Titled Actor Ichikawa Yaozo as Obiya Nagaemon and Actor Iwai Kumesaburo as Shinanoya Ohan. SIZE of the sheet 36.3 x 23.8 cm Condition: Presenting well, with wear and browning of paper. Fading of colors, creasing, folds, and few wormholes and losses with associated repairs. One sheet backed with Japan paper. Provenance: Family collection of either Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) or his son-in-law Louis (Loek) Borensztajn (1935-2021), Netherlands. Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) was an architect, art collector, dealer, and founder of the first Museum of Japanese Art in the Middle East. He became one of the world’s leading collectors of Japanese art, starting at the age of 18, and continued to collect and work as an art dealer in Berlin in the 1920s. In the 1930s Felix Tikotin fled from the Nazis and hid his collection in the Netherlands. After the war, he decided that his collection should be taken to Israel, where in 1959 and with the help of Abba Hushi, who was the mayor of Haifa, The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art was established. The Museum's collection comprises more than 8,000 items of art and crafts. Museum comparison: Compare a closely related print of women engaged in sericulture, one sheet of triptych, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number JP2731.

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