How to Use the Site

The site offers collectors (and other users) historical information concerning the existence (and prior ownership) of ukiyo-e prints. In developing the site, the site creator took some inspiration from John Resig's site, https://ukiyo-e.org. As most ukiyo-e collectors and enthusiasts know, John Resig's site aggregates Japanese prints that can be found in various museum (and some dealer) collections around the world on an artist-by-artist basis. His site can be an incredible resource in looking for prints by a given artist. (Like many users, we hope he will update the site in the future.). (We have included an item called “Museum Search”. This provides a quick search feature to ukiyo-e.org as well as the search function to enable one to search a significant number of museum collections whose contents are not currently included (or not entirely included) in ukiyo-e.org.)

This site is intended to offer a somewhat comparable resource to Ukiyo-e.org -- a listing of prints by certain ukiyo-e artists[1] that have been sold through the years at major auction houses or from reputable dealers or which have otherwise been exhibited at print exhibitions or reproduced in early ukiyo-e books. Sometimes the descriptions are so limited as to be unhelpful (particularly in some late 19th-early 20th century auction catalogues). But many descriptions can be fruitfully searched by a known series title or sub-title, the name of an actor (“Danjuro”) or courtesan (“Hanamurasaki”) or by specific elements contained in a print (e.g., dog or cat, snow, rain, Ryogoku, Fuji, Omi, plum blossoms, etc.).  Because different auction catalogues may provide radically different levels of detail in their descriptions concerning a print, it can be useful to make a search request as general as possible: for example, “Danjuro” rather than “Danjuro V”. In some cases, catalogues may use different variants of a name so one may want to search using both “Ichikawa” and “Ishikawa” (or “Monosuke” as well as “Monnosuke”).  In particular, it should be noted that in some cases the spelling of actor’s names may have changed over time (to give two examples, “Ichikawa Yawozo” is now ordinarily written as “Ichikawa  Yaozo” and “Onoye Yeisaburo” is now ordinarily written as “Onoe Eizaburo”). Where possible, we have placed the current spelling of a name in brackets after the archaic rendering but this is a reason to do research with particular care (as discussed further below).[2]

Since some early catalogues may not identify actors by name, may use an archaic form of a name, or may simply mis-identify the actor[3] (or courtesan) it can also be important to search by reference to some other aspects of the print. Is the actor or courtesan holding a sword, an arrow, a glaive, a fan, a lamp, a letter, a book, a go table, etc? Is he or she standing next to a stream, a tokonoma (alcove), a stack of straw, a mosquito net, a bundle of rice (or another person)? Print descriptions also frequently reference the color of a kimono or other clothing worn by an actor or courtesan or what is shown on the clothing (carp, cherry blossoms, birds (e.g., chidori, crow), horses, waves, etc.) so this may also be an additional useful search tool. Finally, it can be useful to search not just for an English term (such as verandah) but for its Japanese counterpart (engawa) as well since some catalogues may use more Japanese terminology than others. Multiple searches using different search criteria will make it more likely that a searcher will find all the copies of a given print in the auction records.[4] In the case of some of the primitive artists in particular (where the number of existing prints is comparatively limited), a researcher may determine it to be desirable to search through the list of all the catalogue records for that artist. (This can be easily done by leaving the search term boxes blank. In that case, all prints by the artist will be pulled up in chronological sequence.)

In an analogous fashion to John Resig’s site, it is possible on this site to search for the print records of a single artist. It is also, however, possible to combine the prints of several artists into a single search. This can be useful where attributions are not always certain. For example, it can be worthwhile to combine the Kiyomasu I/II and Kiyonobu I/II listings or the Harunobu, Harushige and School of Harunobu print lists in a single search as attributions are not always entirely consistent or clear and, in some cases, have been subject to subsequent revision. (Where we are aware of a change in attribution for a print, we have ordinarily so indicated.  This may particularly be the case where a print is not signed. Such a print will typically be listed both in the list for the originally attributed artist as well as for the re-attributed artist.)

It is possible not only to search the entire database (by selecting all artists) or from the list of specific artists, it is also possible to search more limited tranches of data. For example, if a researcher has a print by Kiyonobu which does not lend itself easily to the search mechanisms discussed above but which does have (say) a Wakai or Hayashi seal, it is possible to limit the search only to those Kiyonobu prints that are described as having a Wakai or Hayashi seal. It is also possible to limit a search to prints in a particular museum, those purchased or sold by a particular auction house (e.g., all prints sold at Drouot)[5] or those sold by a particular collector. Of course, in all these cases, the “output” is only as good as what went into making up the “input.” A print might have a Hayashi seal but if that is not mentioned in the lot description and the print is not illustrated, it will likely not be listed as a “Hayashi” print.

Users should be aware that descriptions from French auction catalogues are in French and descriptions from German auction catalogues are in German. However, through the miracles of technology (and Google Translate™) a search in English for prints with a “cat” will search the French (“chat”) and German (“katze”) auction descriptions and in the event of a match will pull up the relevant search results with the original French or German description followed by an English translation.

If a single copy (and only a single copy) of a print can be shown to have been sold at auction (and that copy does not appear to be in a museum collection), Occam's razor would suggest that a copy of that print under consideration might conceivably be the print described in the prior auction listing. (Of course, one must also consider the possibility that it may not be as well.)

From there, it may be possible to reach a higher level of certainty based upon other information included in the auction catalogue record. For example, if a print (or another copy in a catalogue) has a Wakai, Hayashi, Rouart, Vever or other collector's seal, this may prove useful in proving (or disproving) that the two prints are the same. In addition, a picture of the print contained in a catalogue may also aid in identification. Many individual prints have particular idiosyncracies (such as very particular marks, repaired wormholes, line breaks, stains, nicks or rubbings etc,) that can help determine whether a print under review is the print previously reproduced in a particular catalogue. Finally, if a print is clearly in a museum collection, it is reasonable to assume that that particular copy in the database is not the copy under review.

This website indicates whether a given print was reproduced or illustrated in a catalogue or book (viz, “Print Illustrated” or “Print not Illustrated”). In cases where a catalogue illustrates one of several prints in a lot, the website provides “Prints Illustrated in Part”. We have provided links to those auction catalogues and books that are available online by referencing a catalogue's url in the list of included auction catalogues. For example, if a particular print was included in (say) the 1927 Frank Lloyd Wright auction at the Anderson Galleries in New York and is marked as being illustrated, one could check the list of covered catalogues and see that a digitized copy of that catalogue is available online

Thus, if one wanted to check a picture from that catalogue they could use the url to go the catalogue and then look through the catalogue until they found the print illustration in question. (Unfortunately, it must be said that only a minority of prints are illustrated in early catalogues and not all illustrations are of high quality). In some cases, it can be possible to look for the next time that that particular print was sold at auction. While a print may not be illustrated in one catalogue, it may well have been illustrated the next time it was sold in a subsequent catalogue (or vice versa).[6] We also note that Christie’s provides a record of prints sold at auction (together with illustrations where available) for the past 15-20 years. This material can be accessed at https://www.christies.com/results/?month=9&year=2005 by typing in the name of the artist in the box at the top of the screen labelled “Search by lot or keyword”.  Bonham’s provides a similar resource at https://www.bonhams.com/search/?chronology=past&query. While Sotheby’s used to have a similar feature, prints sold at Sotheby’s now can only be searched for the past five or six years: https://www.sothebys.com/en/results.  O tempora, o mores!  Prints previously offered by dealers can often be found on their respective websites under “archives” or “sold archives”. Finally, it is typically also possible to see the print illustrations for many ukiyo-e prints sold at auction since approximately 1990 at the www.artnet.com website by typing in the name of the artist and scrolling down through prints by the artist that have been sold during that time period. This can be done without cost. Where Artnet.com lists a print which was not in the auction catalogues available to us, we have included it with the indication that the information comes from Artnet.com.  Those seeking further information about such a print would need to access the Artnet.com website.

In many cases, even if a print is not illustrated, the auction catalogue's description of a print may reference some of a print's unique physical characteristics (e.g., if the catalogue refers to "repaired wormhole in upper right corner" and the print being considered or examined has a repaired wormhole in the upper right corner this can be useful for identification purposes).[7] It is also the case that many, particularly French, catalogues provide the measurements of the prints in the catalogue in centimeters or millimeters (some of the better American catalogues provide measurements as well in eighths or sixteenths of an inch). If a print being examined has the same dimensions as a referenced print, that may also provide some useful information towards identifying a given print's provenance (bearing in mind that a catalogue's print measurements may not necessarily always be absolutely accurate). But this information can still be useful even if the print has different dimensions from those provided in a catalogue. In that case, one can conclude that that particular impression is likely not, in fact, the print being examined. The ability to determine that a copy referenced in an auction catalogue is not the print under consideration still has value in narrowing prior provenance.

The site creator has found the best way to do this type of research is to attempt to locate every copy of a given print in the auction record, pull them into a separate file, then work through the prints looking for aspects (size, collector’s seals, marks, etc.) to help narrow the possible candidates. The process can be time-consuming but if one thinks of it as a Sherlock Holmes-ian exercise, it can be rewarding.

Even if it is not possible to determine that a given print being considered or examined is referred to in the auction catalogue record (and it frequently is not), it can still be useful to determine the relative level of rarity of a given print. One of the most surprising things the site's creator discovered in his research was how few copies of primitive and early nishiki-e prints actually appear to be extant (particularly, in good condition with (largely) unfaded color).

As many collectors know, the number of impressions of most prints (until around the1830s to 1840s and thereafter) was probably originally no more than 200-400 copies. See, e.g., Hillier, Japanese Colour Prints (Phaidon, 1966), pp. 8-9 (acknowledging no certainty as to the number of prints taken from a set of blocks but noting that an extant letter from Hokusai to one of his publishers set the limit at 200 prints). (Other ukiyo-e scholars seem generally to agree with Hillier on this point.) In many cases, most of these impressions have been lost or destroyed by fire, earthquake or the ravages of time or man. Thus, if a collector determines that there appear to be three copies of a given print in museum collections (perhaps as a consequence of looking at www.Ukiyo-e.org) and another three or four copies apparently still exist outside of museum collections that have been exhibited or sold at auction or by various dealers, this is a useful data point for purposes of gauging (i) the print's relative rarity and (ii) the likelihood that, as a collector, one will ever find another (possibly better preserved) copy of the print under consideration.  The site creator has turned his back on prints which, based on hindsight and the information gleaned from this project, was not always wise.

Pricing for ukiyo-e prints, all other things being equal, seems historically to bear only a relatively limited relationship to rarity because no one has had a reasonably good sense of how many copies of a print may, in fact, still exist. In many cases, dealers may describe a print as "rare" or “very rare” when, in point of fact, the print is very likely unique.[8] Finally, if collectors know that their print is very rare or unique perhaps they will be more inclined to take proper care of it for the benefit of future collectors (i.e., they won't hang it on the wall so that it ends up a faded wreck). The difference between a ukiyo-e print with its original vibrant colors and a faded impression is the difference, as Samuel Clemens remarked in a different context, between lightning and a lightning bug. It is, of course, also in the long-term economic interest of a print owner to treat his or her prints properly. Sadly, some dealer/collectors and some museum collections have not been proper custodians of the treasures entrusted to their care.  Certainly, based on the evidence, it cannot be said that most individual collectors are inherently worse custodians than museums (which this author had always assumed). It can be eye-opening (and disheartening) to compare the state of prints shown in catalogues in the 1920s with their current state in certain museum collections.

We note that the reason we include seller's and purchaser's names (where known) is both for "provenance purposes" but also to minimize potential "double counting" of prints. As a simple example, if we know that a specific print was acquired in 1910 at Sotheby's London by Sir Frank Swettenham and the print can be shown to have been sold (also by Swettenham) in 1912 or 1920, we can reasonably conclude that these transactions concern a single copy of the print, not two separate copies of the print. Absent the references in the record to Swettenham as first buyer and then seller, it might be reasonable to believe that these two references referred to two separate copies of the print, not a single copy. Finally, the identity of the purchaser may be useful for a different reason. For example, many prints purchased by Arthur B. Duel are now in the Harvard Art Museum. Similarly, prints purchased by Mary Ainsworth are in the Allen Museum at Oberlin College while much of the Charles H. Chandler collection is located at the Honolulu Museum of Art. Thus, the identity of the purchaser may be of some value in tracking the present location of a particular print.

As previously noted, we have also, where it could be determined, indicated where prints sold at auction have ended up in museum collections. Such prints, unless subsequently de-accessioned, are hors de combat. No doubt there are prints now in museum collections that we have not been able to mark as currently in such collections. As time goes on, we hope to identify as many such prints (and the museums that hold them) as possible.  This information makes even clearer the limited number of primitive and golden age ukiyo-e prints that remain “in the wild.”

In summary, the purpose of this site is to make research into the provenance of ukiyo-e prints more feasible and less difficult for those with an interest in tracking down the history of their prints.  In addition, we hope that ukiyo-e scholars may be able to use this data in ways the site creator cannot currently conceive. It would be wonderful if this site were able to advance ukiyo-e scholarship in some useful ways. The site offers a wealth of information. The information should be used thoughtfully and carefully.