Peacocks

Date:: description
Medium:: Woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Publisher:: Watanabe Shozaburo
Edition:

Published by Watanabe Shozaburo

Source:

Typical Price

Large-format prints of eagles, cranes, and other dramatic subjects are among Koson's most commanding works. His "Pomegranate and Parrot" achieved $60,000 at Eldred's Auction in 2016. Christie's sold a bird-and-flower print for $17,640 in 2024. Premium subjects in excellent condition with early publisher seals attract the strongest bids.

Common later editions: $300–$1,500
Good lifetime impressions signed Koson or Shoson: $1,500–$5,000
Exceptional large-format eagle or crane prints: $5,000–$60,000

Description

Peacocks — the most flamboyant of all birds — display their extraordinary tail feathers in a composition of maximum decorative richness. Koson's peacock prints allow him to explore pattern and color at a scale and complexity unavailable in most of his subjects: the eye-spots of the tail, the iridescent blue-green of neck and breast, the fan of spread feathers creating a composition that verges on ornamental abstraction. His treatment balances the peacock's display with a setting that contains rather than overwhelms the bird's extravagance.