SHUNKOSAI HOKUSHU (active1802-1832) AND SHUNBAISAI HOKUEI (active 1824-1837)
EDO PERIOD
£2,125
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art
Auction: 5 November 2021 at 10:00 GMT
Description
comprising seven oban tate-e prints; six by Shunkosai Hokushu, including two diptych prints of Kabuki Actor Nakamura Utaemon III as Tabakoya Sankichi and Ichikawa Ebijuro as Saito Kuranosuke afraid of apparition of giant snake, published by Honya Seishichi; one Actors Bando Mitsugoro III as Lady Iwafuji and Nakamura Matsue III as Lady Onoe; one Actors Sawamura Kunitaro II as Ayame no Mae and Arashi Kitsusaburo II as Gen Sanmi Yorimasa; one Bando Jutaro; one Nakamura Karoku I as the Courtesan Hinazuru, actually Shokuro's wife Kocho, all signed Shunkosai Hokushu ga; together with one by Shunbaisai Hokuei, Actor Arashi Rikan II as Aburaya Yohei, signed Sekkaro Hokuei ga
Dimensions
largest: 38.1cm x 26.2cm
Provenance
Provenance: From the collection of Arthur Halcrow Verstage
Note: Arthur Halcrow Verstage (1875-1969) was an architect who spent much of his career in the public sector. He was a student at the Royal Academy School of Architecture in the 1900s and was elected as an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1902. By 1903 he was a student and assistant at the Central School of Arts and Crafts (later known as the Central School of Art and Design) in London where William Lethaby was principal and a great influence on him. He then oversaw the design of the new school in Southampton Row from 1905-8. From here he became an architect for London County Council and was involved with many London societies, and as a founding member of the Kelmscott Fellowship, a forerunner to The William Morris Society. His large and varied collection was a reflection of his wide interest in the arts. His archive was purchased by The William Morris Society in 2005.