A Large Wooden Announcement Board 307 X 963 X 10 Mm Bearing Legible Calligraphic Brushed Text A

by Merchant Guild Kosatsu

$5,000 · Offered by Jonathan A. Hill Bookseller

Kyoto: December 1853 . A most interesting artifact and rare survival, this kōsatsu wooden board presents the latest regulations for a Kyoto guild of art supply merchants, or enoguya kabu 絵具屋株, which primarily dealt in pigments for painting. These Edo-period guilds, kabunakama 株仲間, were granted monopolies by the state to autonomously monitor and administer their trades. In return, the shogunate levied high taxes on the

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