Seiko: Crow
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Okuhara Seiko (1837-1913) attr.

A crow sitting on a willow branch at dawn.

Signature: Seiko 静湖

Seal: Seiko 静湖

Publisher: (Daikokokuya, Tokyo)

Date: c. 1900-1910

Size: Shikishiban, 23.8 x 24.8 cm (overall)

Excellent impression, very good colours. On bottom and left (possibly) slightly trimmed. A vertical crease along each lateral margin (smoothed). Overall very good condition.

Ill. in in Andon no. 76, p. 49, fig. 13 (bird identified as Corvus corone, carrion crow). Cf. MFA Boston, RES.52.27; Freer Sackler, Robert O. Muller Collection, No. S2003.8.2116.
Usually the fine bird depictions bearing this signature (despite the different spelling of the first character) are attributed to the famous woman painter Okuhara Seiko (see British Museum, MFA Boston, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and others). Merrit and Yamada (Guide, p. 133) do not make any attribution. For a possible attribution to the kacho-e-artist Watanabe Seitei (1851-1918) see Neumann and Schaap in: Andon No. 76, 2004, p. 40 ff.

sold