Japanese Shunga Woodblock Print, Framed

Purple robes, red silk and a yellow sash tumble together, with the text tucked neatly around the edges.

This framed shunga woodblock print comes from Japan and dates to the Meiji Period (1868 – 1912 CE), in ink on paper. Shunga, erotic prints, were widely produced in Japan from the Edo period onward, often bound into illustrated books. This sheet shows a couple entangled in an embrace, their robes in lavender, red and pale yellow patterned with fine lines. Columns of handwritten script fill the spaces above and to the sides, and a center fold runs down the page. It is matted in linen. It is 21 inches wide, 19.5 high and 1.5 deep.

Candid, colorful and framed with admirable composure.