Playing Cards
- Date:
- 1904
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Typical Price
Key value factors: As self-carved and self-printed works, sosaku-hanga value is tied to the artist's reputation and edition size. Larger formats, earlier editions, and historically significant works command the highest prices.
- Common examples: $100–$500
- Good impressions: $500–$2,000
- Premium/scarce: $2,000–$10,000
Description
"Playing Cards" (1904) depicts women engaged in card playing — whether the traditional Japanese karuta card games or the Western-style playing cards that had become fashionable in Meiji Japan. Card play was a significant social activity in Japanese domestic life, and the specific game being played would have been immediately recognizable to contemporary viewers. Shuntei renders the social scene of a card game in progress: the gathered players, the cards arranged on the playing surface, the focused attention and social interaction the game required.
