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.
"Shell Gathering at Low Tide" (1896) depicts the spring leisure activity of collecting shells and shellfish from the tidal flats at low tide — a practice celebrated in Japanese poetry and recognized in the traditional calendar as a spring pleasure activity (shiohi no asobi). The scene required specific compositional strategies: the figure bent over the tidally exposed flat, the water's edge providing the horizon, the specific posture of low-tide collection work. Shuntei renders the activity with attention to the specific quality of tidal environment.
Shell gathering at low tide was created by Miyagawa Shuntei (宮川春汀) in 1896.
Shell gathering at low tide depicts figures, spring, and seascapes.
