Posted by Arnold (192.231.106.2) on September 20, 2004 at 00:50:43:
In Reply to: Original Formats of Ukiyo-e posted by Holly Ovalle on September 17, 2004 at 17:10:02:
Holly,
I have just a bit to add about hashira-e. According to Pin’s in “The Japanese Pillar Print” and confirmed by Hockley’s research for “Koryusai”, hashira-e were often mounted as kakemono i.e. hanging scrolls. Pins shows two examples of hanging hashira-e in prints by Harunobu (from a pillar beside a flower arrangement) and Utamaro (several hanging in a shop). Hockley (“Koryusai” – p 153 and footnotes 14-16 on p 299) states that mounted hashira-e were still relatively common in the early 20th century but are now rarely found. Most were mounted on paper and apparently a few on silk since remnants of silk were found on a few of Koryusai’s hashira-e in the Boston collection. Hockley points out that Koryusai added his seal to his early hashira-e, arguing that the intent along with mounting the hashira-e as kakemono was to elevate the position of this art.
In this regard, I considered it a find when I purchased a fully silk-mounted Koryusai hashira-e that came in a beautiful old Japanese cedar box specifically fitted to hold the hashira-e. The mounting looks old and the box is labeled in a manner consistent with mid-19th century practice. The mounting is similar to that shown in the Harunobu/Utamaro prints and the presumption is that the mount is original.
It’s very unfortunate that almost all hashira-e were stripped of their mounts if the sample I have can serve as an original. The mounted hashira-e is about 2x the length of the print itself (about 52 inches vs 28 inches for the print). The extra length of a color coordinated silk border with colored paper extensions has a dramatic effect on the overall impression. The extra length extends the narrow image of the print even further in the mind's eye. Presumably, this effect was visually offensive to our “great, great grandparents” who with no thought to art preservation, removed almost all mounts.
Arnold