ANTIQUE MEIJI ERA JAPANESE WOOD CARVED HANGI WOODBLOCK KANBAN SEA WEED SHOP SIGN

Description

An original antique woodblock from Kyoto, Japan This is unusual as it's a woodblock, made to print on paper, but a sign for a shop that sold seaweed.
At the top it's blank. This is a space where someone would write something with brush and ink. In this case, How many seaweeds they had for sale.
Written on the sign is "Nori" (Dried seaweed) "Iwasaki's shop" and that this was in Nihonbashi in Tokyo
The back is interesting. There's a carved decorative pattern across the back.
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. The wood carvers would then copy that writing / design exactly . . . backwards. (So it would print correctly) These are a work of art and skill.
This is a relatively rare item. This is art. We have a small personal collection we are listing.
It's 17 x 9 3/8 inches  (43 x 24 cm) and 5/8 inch thick (1.5 cm).
The total unpacked weight is 1 3/4 pounds. (.8 kilo)
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.