Cosmetic bottles

Cosmetic bottles is a still-life of traditional Japanese cosmetic vessels — likely the small porcelain or glass containers used historically for beni (rouge), oshiroi (white face powder), and hair oils. Such vessels, with their rounded bellies, narrow necks, and varied stoppers, offer a vocabulary of geometric forms that aligns with Mabuchi's preference for simplified, emblematic shapes. Broad flat areas of color separated by strong carved outlines render each bottle as a distinct silhouette, with the relationships between objects established through grouping and overlap rather than illusionistic depth. Surface texture from the washi paper and baren burnishing gives the muted earth-toned palette a tactile quality. The subject carries quiet domestic associations — feminine, traditional, interior — that complement the rural exteriors more typical of his output. Within sosaku-hanga, where the artist's hand is visible throughout the design, carving, and printing, such still-lifes function as compact studies in form and color, distilling the same compositional principles Mabuchi applied to his landscapes.