NISHIKAWA, Sukenobu.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Ehon hime tsubaki ("A Picture Book of Women's Faithfulness"). First edition, in a charming later binding of Asian brocade added by the French artist and collector, Eugène Gillet. This work introduces a wide range of historical female characters as educational role models for young girls, valorizing their dedication to religion, war, and their husbands. Nishikawa Sukenobu (1671-1750) was famous for his illustrations of women and his distinctive style is clearly visible.The women profiled in Ehon hime tsubaki include the poet and daughter of Emperor Murakami, Princess Senshi (964-1035), known for her intelligence, for her quick-wittedness, and for being the longest serving high priestess (saiin) at the Kamo shrines. Another is the Kato Tsune, the wife of the samurai Okumura Nagatomi, who became renowned for arming herself with a naginata at the siege of Suemori Castle (1584) and joining the defence. Nishikawa Sukenobu was among the most prominent painters in 17th-century Japan. "His style was graceful and sensuous, and it influenced many Edo artists, such as the late 18th-century painters Suzuki Harunobu and Ishikawa Toyonobu" (Ency. Brit).Gillet (1859-1938) was a French artist known for his work in the uncommon technique of enamelled lava. He also collected a large number of 18th- and 19th-century Japanese books, which can be identified by their distinctive bindings "of evident orientalist taste" (Bianchi, p. 141). An archive including his personal notebook detailing the conte

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.