About This Print
Gathering shellfish at low tide was a popular family pastime during the Edo and Meiji eras, as can be seen by its many representations in prints by artists such as Hiroshige and Hokusai and in this collection's prints Gathering Shellfish at Low Tide at Fukagawa Susaki and Shiohi, Women of the Bunka Era from the series Thirty-six Elegant Selections.In this print, we have the artist Watanabe Nobukazu, a disciple of Yōshū Chikanobu (1838-1912), depicting a well-heeled mother, daughter and son, accompanied by a young servant, gathering shellfish. Mt. Fuji rises in the background and the little boy is shown grasping for a flounder mired in the low tide.
Unfortunately, the top few inches of this long "pillar" print appear to have been cut off, when compared with the below impression of this print which was offered for sale in a 2018 auction for 1,500€.* It may well be that this collection's impression was a proof print, given the differences in color between the two prints and its missing red sky.
*[see https://ilab.org/sites/default/files/catalogs/files/3380_les_20estampes_20japonaises.pdf accessed 11/27/2020]
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #2089 |
| Title or Description | Gathering shellfish at low tide (untitled) |
| Artist | Watanabe Nobukazu (1872-1944) |
| Signature |  |
| Seal | no artist seal |
| Publication Date | unknown |
| Publisher |  佐藤 Satō in two adjoining ovals Possibly a mark of the publisher Satō Shintarō 佐藤新太郎 (Marks:pub. ref. 455), a Chikanobu publisher. |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | poor - approx. 2 in. trimmed from top; soiling |
| Genre | ukiyo-e |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | vertical nagaban |
| H x W Paper | 23 7/8 x 10 in. (60.6 x 25.4 cm) |
| H x W Image | 23 1/4 x 9 3/4 in. (59.1 x 24.8 cm) |
| Literature | |
| Collections This Print |
11/27/20 created
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