Good antique condition for an original woodblock illustration approximately 285–290 years old. The original two-page spread has been preserved and is presented in a new A4 frame measuring approximately 30 × 21 cm, ready for display.
Dating to the Genbun era (1736–1741) of the Edo period, this original hand-carved and hand-printed woodblock illustration is by Tachibana Morikuni (橘守国, 1679–1748), an important Osaka artist and illustrator renowned for his extensively illustrated reference books.
Titled Waterfowl and Ducks — 浮鳥鴨之類 (Ukidori Kamo no Tagui), the two-page composition presents a detailed study of Japanese aquatic birds, depicting several varieties swimming and resting upon the water. One of the birds is specifically identified within the illustration as 真鴨 (magamo), the Japanese mallard.
The image was printed entirely from hand-carved woodblocks in sumi ink on traditional Japanese paper. Morikuni combines carefully observed feather patterns and recognizable characteristics with the elegant, simplified outlines typical of eighteenth-century Japanese book illustration.
Morikuni's illustrated books were more than decorative works. They functioned as important visual reference and instructional books for artists and craftsmen, providing models of birds, animals, plants, landscapes, human figures, and traditional subjects that could be studied and adapted for painting and the decorative arts.
Printed during the Tokugawa shogunate approximately 285–290 years ago, this surviving illustration provides a fascinating example of both early Edo natural-history imagery and the sophisticated woodblock book culture of eighteenth-century Japan.
