Woman Sewing Kimono (descriptive title)
- Date:
- 1898
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Honolulu Museum of Art
Typical Price
Beauty subjects are especially sought after in this category. 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
A woman sewing a kimono — the laborious process of cutting and assembling the large, flat panels of silk or cotton that made up the traditional garment — depicted in Shuntei's mode of domestic genre. The making of a kimono required considerable skill and investment of time, and women's sewing was both an economic activity and a form of creative expression in the choice of fabric and the quality of the work. From 1898, this print captures the specific posture and arrangement of the task: the fabric spread out, the needle moving through the material in the quiet concentration of absorbed craft.
