Writing a Note
- Date:
- c. 1890s
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Honolulu Museum of Art
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
"Writing a Note" from the early 1890s depicts a woman in the act of writing — the calligraphic brush stroke, the formal arrangement of the writing materials (ink stone, water dropper, paper), the specific posture of a person bent over correspondence. Writing was a valued feminine accomplishment in Meiji Japan, and the scene of a woman writing a letter or note carried implications of education, refinement, and social engagement. Shuntei renders the specific quality of absorbed concentration that the careful formation of calligraphic characters required.
