Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)

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A fine long surimono with poems attached showing horsetails, fern fronds and kuzu ( arrowroot ) lying in and around a lady’s travelling hat with silk cushion and the two red cords for tying. Of the utmost rarity: other impressions in TNMC, no. 3708 ( without poems ? ); Matthi Forrer, Hokusai, no. 67, p. 64 ( with poems ); Surimono: Prints by Elbow, Edythe Polster and Alfred Marks, 1979, Lovejoy Press, F-D 1933-4-2680, p. 267, ( without poems ? ). But miscatalogued as a bowl with green vine and plants. Ex Hayashi; and evidently an impression in the Ota Memorial Museum of Art, Jingumae, Tokyo. There is also a Hokusai square surimono of the same subject illustrated in The Art of Surimono, Roger Keyes, 198, p. 226. Issued 1801. A beautiful print.

Fine impression. Very good colour. Minor marks. The inevitable folds hardly discernable: These surimono were folded three times, once horizontally and twice vertically to form a neat packet. The facing text ( announcement or poems ) were an irritation to many early collectors and were trimmed off, making this example even rarer. Otherwise very good condition. Signed Gakojin Hokusai utsushi.

Status: Sold