Artist: Torii Kotondo (1900-1976)
Title: Botanyuki 牡丹雪 (Peony Snow Flakes) Date: 1934
A woman turns her head against the falling snow, also inviting us to admire her beauty from this terrific oblique (and artistically challenging) angle. Her visage is masterfully framed by the diagonal edge of her parasol at upper left and the diagonals of her black outer robe on the lower left; her gaze pulls us in the opposite direction, creating balance. The snowflakes are indeed huge. Her black robe must have a soft, fluffy texture, as it has been printed with a soft and textured black, rather than a deep, satiny black. Oversized snowflakes like this are also known as Peony Snowflakes, as the flakes are as large as the blossoms of this flower. Following the completion of the original edition of 100 prints, the keyblock was deliberately gouged to destroy it, and a print of the defaced keyblock was included with each of the 100 prints sold in the 1930s. With the title “Bokan Yuki” (Peony Snow) printed in a soft purple on the lower margin. The blocks were carved by Ito and printed by Komatsu Wasakichi. Verso is the publisher's limited edition cartouche printed , Ikeda hanken shoyu, hyaku mai kagiri zeppan (Ikeda, copyright; edition limited to 100). Little is known about this publisher Ikeda, but the prints he created for Kotondo in editions of 100 are of extremely high quality. Note that due to the popularity of the image, combined with its rarity, that later facsimile editions were created in the 1980s. The reprints have a large and conspicuous printer’s seal in the oversized left margin, and the printing cannot compare to this original edition. Scarce, especially in this condition.
Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Unusual to find with the pink on the cheeks still extant, as here. Some very light discolorations to the edges of the paper, which have happened naturally due to its age. Publisher: Ikeda Tomizo
References: Amy Reigle-Stephens, gen. ed., The New Wave: Twentieth Century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, 1993, p. 203, no 271. See “The female image”, number 181, page 135. See the National Museum of Asian Art for the Muller collection example. Signature: Kotondo ga
Size: 45 x 29.6 cm
Price: $22,000
SKU: KOT031
