JAPANESE (Late 19th Century) - Lilies 23

JAPANESE (Late 19th Century)
Lilies
Woodblock print and finished by hand on pith laid-down on heavier stock
17 ¼” x 10 ½” sheet
Provenance: Nevins Memorial Library, MA

Beautiful hand-colored woodcuts from a Japanese nursery catalogue produced by the Yokohama Nursery Company for the export market. The company was formed at the end of the nineteenth for the purpose of exporting Japanese plants to the West, capitalizing on the prevailing wave of Japonism.

The outlines of the flower illustrations are printed on pith and hand-colored in watercolor and gouache, then laid-down on heavier stock.