Chorus of Birds; Utamaro Japanese Woodblock Print (10/28/2008)

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Chorus of Birds; Utamaro Japanese Woodblock Print

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Chorus of Birds; Utamaro Japanese Woodblock Print

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Sold Date: 10/28/2008
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Ethnic, Folk & Native American Art

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We encourage WORLDWIDE bidding with super low reserves- $5 domestic shipping & very reasonable international shipping. We will service your order domestic or international- guaranteed. Fuji Arts team members are available to assist you; email- or give us a call at (USA eastern time zone). We're happy to help!

Utamaro (1750 - 1806) Japanese Woodblock reprint
Fine Wildlife Print
Series; A Chorus of birds
1930's from Robert O. Muller collection

A Chorus of Birds- Original published in 1790 by Utamaro, a Chorus of Birds (momo chidori) was one of three nature albums in a trilogy that included birds, shells and insects. Each subject depicted various birds in their natural environments and included kyoka, a short form of comic poetry, written above. These lovely reprints reproduce the serene, elegant beauty of the originals, matching them in color and detail. The group offered tonight is a complete set, all the designs from Utamaro's "Chorus of Birds" are represented tonight. Take a look through these beautiful prints and pick out a few of your favorite designs from the series. Bid now!

Artist & Signature- Utamaro (1750 - 1806)
Size- 14" x 9 1/4" + margins as shown
Provenance and our guarantee- Robert O. Muller collection, collected by Muller in Japan in the 1930Â's. Each print sold with certificate of authenticity from Fuji Arts (noting Muller collection provenance).
Condition- Excellent unless otherwise noted. Muller was known as a first rate conservator and took exquisite care when storing his prints. These woodblocks are clearly old prints showing the markers of paper that is 70 years old with the wonderful sense of an old print.

The Robert O. Muller Collection for Japanese art enthusiasts- Robert Muller is regarded by curators, collectors and scholars as the individual who compiled the finest collection of 20th century Japanese woodblock prints in the world. After his death in April of 2003, 4000 Japanese woodblock prints were donated to the Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian. Other parts of his collection were sold. Muller's collection was the major source of prints for several books on Japanese woodblocks and his prints were exhibited all over the world. Search the web to find out more about this important collection, you'll find several excellent articles and press releases.

At Fuji Arts we're excited to offer pieces from a terrific acquisition; a wide ranging group of old ukiyo-e reprints from the Robert O. Muller collection. These prints are a great opportunity to collect some of the most famous images in Japanese art, in fine old editions, from a noted collection, at a tiny fraction of the cost of an original.

Detail of this Print

Print Reverse Below

Collecting these old reprints- Collectors dream of owning and enjoying some of the most famous, historic, and beautiful Japanese print images of all time. While the works of Utamaro, Harunobu, Choki, Hokusai and Hiroshige are known to many, the cost of old originals is prohibitive to all but a few. Famous old prints sell for thousands, tens of thousands and sometimes, hundreds of thousands of dollars. Purchasing a fine old reprint is an exciting and gratifying way to collect a beautiful old print at a small fraction of those costs.

How were these prints done? These beautiful woodblock reprints were done exactly as the originals. An artist carved a wood block, one for each color, and hand printed each print one color at a time. These old reprints are sought after for their meticulous attention to detail and color, rivaling the originals. Unlike the brighter, souvenir prints seen on the market these fine reprints show the attention to detail and careful color choices intended to exactly replicate the old originals.

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