Toyohara (Yôshû) Chikanobu (1838-1912)
A mother admonishingly touching her little son’s head, as hidden mandarin oranges roll from his kimono sleeve. In the background a tokonoma niche adorned with a scroll painting and an ikebana flower arrangement.
On top: The boy Lu Ji kneeling in front of old Yuan Shu; the mandarin oranges that he secretly wanted to take home to please his mother are lying before him.
Title: Lu Ji (Nr. 19) – jap. Riku Seki
Series: Nijû-shi ko mitate e-awase (Juxtaposed Pictures of Twenty-four Chinese Paragons of Filial Piety)
Signature: Yôshû Chikanobu
Block carver: Hori Asa (Asahisa Ryûtarô)
Publisher: Hasegawa Tsunejirô, Tokio
Date: Meiji 24 (1891)
Size: Oban, 33,7 x 22,3 cm
Very good impression, fine fresh colours. Retains old album backing. On bottom short box pleat, else very good condition.
Literature: Bruce A. Coats, Chikanobu. Modernity and Nostalgia in Japanese Prints. Leiden, 2006, p. 154 ff
sold