100 Views of Edo # 87 Deluxe Edition by Ando Hiroshige

Artist: Ando Utagawa Hiroshige (1787-1858)

Title: 100 Views of Edo # 87 Benten Shrine, Inokashira Pond

1st Publication: 1856

Size: 8-3/4 x 13-1/2 for the image + margins as shown

Date of this edition: April 1856

Publisher: Uoya Eikichi

Carver: Hori-Sen

Condition: Stains on the back in the margins from tape due to prior mounting. Blue from the sky has faded, as seen on the pictures. Else, the print is in stunning condition. The mica is still present

Notes: Original 1st edition by Uoya in 1856.
This is one of the extremely rare deluxe edition, with mica in the sky, as you can see on the additional picture section. Usually, this technique was reserved for good customer or prestigious people, as the technology was fairly new, expensive and difficult to master. No light spot, no tears or soiling on this masterpiece. A great addition to any collection.

More about this print: Inokashira Pond is intimately associated with Edo as the earliest source of its regular water supply. The Kanda Aqueduct, built in the early seventeenth century, carried its spring-fed waters to the city.

The orientation of the geography here suggests a blending of two different points of view. The pond itself is represented as seen from the northwest, while both the mountains in the distance and the shrine to the goddess Benten in the foreground are shown as seen from the south. In the case of the shrine, the southern perspective enables a frontal view that emphasizes the shrine's importance.