Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
A lively street scene in the Saruwaka theatre district of Edo: Theatre-goers strolling in the street and visiting the inns, bustling food delivery men and other suppliers, Kago (sedan chairs) of distinguished guests are parked in front of the restaurants.
Title: Saruwaka-chô hanjô no zu (The flourishing Saruwaka district)
Series: Edo meisho (Famous places of Edo)
Signature: Hiroshige ga
Publisher: Fujiokaya Keijirô (Fujikei, Shôrindô), Edo
Censors: Yoshimura and Muramatsu
Date: c. 1846-48
Original Japanese colour woodblock print. Size: Horizontal Ôban, 24.7 x 37.2 cm (overall)
Very good impression and colours. Unbacked, wide margins. Lower right corner missing. A little rubbing and soiling, mainly in margins, top margin stained. A smoothed vertical centrefold, hardly visible, some smaller wormholes and thin spots in the paper, partly restored. Overall still in good condition. Verso in bottom red collector's seal.
The lantern in front of the central inn shows (in light grey-blue) Hiroshige's so-called "diamond seal". This is a documented print variant with altered colour blocks. Cf. MFA Boston, Spaulding Coll., no. 21.10046; Chazen Art Museum, Van Vleck Coll., no. 1980.1537 (this variant).
sold