Tea Ceremony
- Date:
- 1880
- 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
The tea ceremony (茶道 / chado) depicted in 1880 — one of Shuntei's earliest known works — shows a woman performing the ritual preparation and serving of powdered tea in the formal aesthetic context of the Japanese tea ceremony. This early subject reflects Shuntei's grounding in traditional Japanese cultural practice, the tea ceremony being among the most codified and aesthetically demanding of domestic arts. His 1880 rendering would have been made with the technical vocabulary of the earlier Meiji woodblock tradition, showing the influences that would shape his mature style.
