10 ANTIQUE JAPANESE WOOD CARVED HANGI WOODBLOCKS / 40 Book Pages 3 Pictures

Description

Ten original antique woodblocks from Kyoto, Japan. All ten were for printing a book "Unkin Zuibutsu" (Stories of different Subjects)  Each woodblock contains four pages for this book. Two pages on each side. There are three
intricately
carved illustrated drawings.
The front pages are here with the table of contents. There are a total of forty book pages here, but this is not the complete book. There are some pages / blocks missing.
Look closely at the woodblocks themselves
to appreciate the skill and fine detail in the carvings. Our attempt to make a print from these on the paper shown is nowhere near good enough to appreciate their intricate detail.
Historically w
ood blocks were the only way the Japanese knew to print documents / books or pictures until the late 1800's. (After that they went to movable type and lithographs.)
Often these woodblocks would be used and then eventually the wood would be planed down and used / carved again for something else. This was because having the right kind of tight grained seasoned Japanese cherry wood was valuable.
Consequently there are not a lot of these around, most of them eventually being destroyed. Because most of Japan's city's were burned during WW2, this would have resulted in many disappearing also. (
Most printing was done in the cities.)
When these were made a calligrapher would be called to do the writing / design. An artist, often a famous artist would be called to do the illustrations. The wood carvers would then copy that writing / illustrations exactly . . . backwards. (So it would print correctly) These are a work of art and skill.
These are relatively rare items. Especially a collection this large. This is art.
And is part of our personal collection we are listing.
They're 16 1/2 x 8 inches  (42 x 20 cm) and 3/4 inch thick (2 cm).
Their total unpacked weight is 15 pounds.
We have been selling Japanese antiques for 23 years. We are shipping from Los Angeles.
We have other antique/vintage Japanese items on our ebay site. We will combine items for shipping if we can safely do so.
And if you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, return it within 14 days for a no questions asked refund.
Notice:   If you want to combine items, or are buying internationally, contact us about shipping before payment. We can often give you a lower price than the computer generated ebay shipping price.