NAKAZAWA -- "The Heroine Matsukaze"
(Mermaid) (#3)

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Artist NAKAZAWA Hiromitsu
(1874-1964)
Title "The Heroine Matsukaze"
(aka, "Mermaid")
Date ca1922/23
Provenance Dealer contact--from an exceptional private collection.
Series A Supplement of "The Complete Works of Chikamatsu" (12-print series)
("Dai Chikamatsu Zenshu")
Publisher unk
Seal, Carver/Printer Yamagishi Kazue/Nishimura Kumakichi (both artisans produced the entire 12-print series)
Image Size 10 5/8 x 14 5/8 ("dai-oban")
Impression Very Fine. Nicely done "bokashi" (gradation of colors) shading throughout print; light "gauffrage" to mermaid and rocks; overprinted with small areas of white "gofun" (white pigment); detailed carving.
Condition Excellent. Excellent colors. Clean front and verso.
(Slight toning--finest copy we've even encountered.)
Reference/Illus Illustrated in "The Female Image" (page 203).
Comments Part of a 12-print series of prints (each done by a different artist) published c1922/23; all were carved by Yamagishi Kazue and printed by Nishimura Kumakichi. For a further discussion of this series, see "The New Wave - Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection" (page 168). (Most "Chikamatsu" prints are found badly spotted or toned--these are in very fine condition.)
Item # EG-184
Price $395 (Sold/SB)