Japanese Paintings on Silk

Hi Friends,

Does anyone recognize these? They seem to have some age. They are framed similarly. Each side is about 14.5".




Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

Both images are reproductions of ukiyo-e woodblock prints by Utamaro. Originally printed on Japanese paper, I suspect these versions have been "antiqued".
https://ukiyo-e.org/image/artofjapan/10071440
https://ukiyo-e.org/image/mfa/sc156941

 

Dude-Do you think these are printed or painted ? As far as silk raw or otherwise,nada info-i automatically thought of a really fine papyrus (which i don't think the Japanese ever used). Could you buy them (with the stipulation you have the right to return them in a week,prob not -but worth a shot).I would take them to a well established Japanese art dealer for evaluation.Now if they're really cheap ($5-10),then just go for it-better odds than Powerball.

 

like '2manybooks' said. wonder what resale is on these ?

 

I own them. Thanks for the tip. I will try that. To answer your first question, I'm not sure. I just know they look different than other Japanese pieces with similar subject matter that I have found.

 

Good luck-show them to a few folks around town to some folks with some expertise.
The Japanese would use the same wood printing blocks for years,as the original blocks wore down,they would splice in new sections of wood to repair them.The printing clarity would degrade over time (like a xerox of a xerox). That's why very early crisp printings of Hokusai's 'Great Wave' can be worth hundreds of thousands and restrikes much less.