Posted by Andrew (172.129.34.86) on January 27, 2006 at 04:29:11:
In Reply to: Watanabe Gift seal - relevance ??? posted by Peter on January 26, 2006 at 22:35:14:
Peter -
I searched on the Japanese internet for information but didn't come up with much beyond what you have already said.
My interpretation of this is:
(A) The seal itself does not indicate anything about the print being a "gift", it just reads "WA - TA - NA - BE" in kana as opposed to the kanji used in the oblong seals
(B) Therefore "gift" is a rather strong word and it might more accurately be called a "complimentary" seal, i.e. applied to a variety of prints including samples, proofs, etc. as well as actual personal gifts
(C) The quality of the prints bearing the seal is variable, so the rarity of the seal per se is outweighed (in the minds of most collectors) by other considerations such as the quality of the impression, and perhaps the edition of the prints on which it appears
(D) There was mention on artelino.com of another seal applied to the reverse side of some prints which reads "SHINTEI" literally meaning a presentation or complimentary copy. This would be a different seal entirely but perhaps similar in meaning.
I don't really know anything about it, I knew a little bit about the differences among the earlier oblong seals but in general have very little knowledge of shin-hanga. Very interesting question !
Cheers
Andrew