Rare Vertical Shikake-e (Toy Print) from c.1840 — attributed to Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861)
 
This slender, vertical shunga woodblock print picture contains three different shunga close-up scenes, all highly erotic in their own particular way.
 
Vertical, shikake-e format shunga are exceptionally scarce, especially in such stellar condition.
 
Details:
Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Date: c. 1840
Format: Vertical shikake-e (toy shunga print)
Size: 17.5 × 3 cm 
Condition: Virtually mint condition.  Excellent colors and impressions.  No backing.  
 
Another striking example of the rare vertical shikake-e (shunga toy print) format, this highly inventive design presents three intimate vignettes arranged in a narrow pillar-like composition.  The central scene, featuring an elegantly dressed beauty engaged in an amorous oral encounter, is framed by boldly rendered female anatomical studies above and below, creating a composition that is both playful and intensely provocative.  Such novelty-format shunga were intended to surprise and engage viewers, and surviving examples remain exceptionally scarce today.  A fascinating and highly collectible example of Edo-period erotic printmaking, combining rarity, visual ingenuity, and remarkable state of preservation.