View of the Whirlpools at Awa (Awa Naruto no fukei), from an untitled set of three triptychs, 1857, 4th month
Woodblock print
Oban triptych:
Right-hand sheet: 34.8 x 24.3 cm. (13 3/4 x 9 5/8 in.)
Middle sheet: 34.8 x 25.2 cm. (13 3/4 x 9 7/8 in.)
Left-hand sheet: 34.8 x 24.2 cm. (13 3/4 x 9 1/2 in.)
Price on request
Signed: Hiroshige hitsu
Publisher: Okazawaya Taheiji
Sealed: Toto Ikka, aratame (certified) and date seal
This print represents the 'flower' subject of Hiroshige's final Setsugekka ('Snow, Moon and Flower') set, with 'Kiso Gorge in Snow' and 'Moon at Kanazawa' completing the set of three triptychs....
This print represents the 'flower' subject of Hiroshige's final Setsugekka ('Snow, Moon and Flower') set, with 'Kiso Gorge in Snow' and 'Moon at Kanazawa' completing the set of three triptychs. Here, Hiroshige interprets the whirlpools created by the water swirling around the rocks and small islands of Awa as the 'flower' of the subject of the set. Fishing boats are visible off the mountainous coastline. All three triptychs of this set are rare, and are amongst the last of Hiroshige's great designs.
For another impression of this triptych in the collection of The MET, New York, accession no. JP2834a–c, go to: The MET Awa Whirlpools; and for another in the collection of The British Museum, London, museum no. 1908,0714,0.50.1-3, go to: The BM Awa Whirlpools