Hello Julia, I’m very glad that you chose Mearto for your online appraisal, Considering the photographs, overall pattern, seals and the characters, I concluded that this is a Japanese Woodblock Print dating back to the period between 1847-1850. This piece is an original antique woodblock print from mid 19th century. The scene depicts a Samurai while he is striking to the script laying on the floor with rage. This rage feeling was very successfully expressed by the artist. Based on the marks, writings and seals we can say that this piece's publisher was "Yamamotoya Heikichi". Yamamotoya Heikichi firm was on bussiness during the period between 1812-1886. What makes us sure of the small period of 1847-1950 is the censor seals. During this period, Artworks in Japan were strictly controlled by the censors who were government officials. All woodblock prints had to be examined by official censors, and marked with their seals till the end of this policy in 1876. Your pieces were controlled by two censors at the time, these censors usually used letters to seal pieces. In your pieces case these were "G" and "N". G was for Murata Heiemon and N for Mera Ta-ichiro. The double seal appear on your pieces right side under the sword of the Samurai. The long writings on the other hand are depicting the event with probably some poetic writing. The piece is very collectable and an important piece of history. The piece is in good condition withotu any visible fault. Woodblock Print. Dimensions: 11 Inches by 15 Inches, only the print. Condition: The piece is in good condition withotu any visible fault. Provenance: Purchased from an estate sale in San Diego by the current owner's mother. 350-400$. Please don’t hesitate to reach us again for more online appraisals on your precious items, thank you for choosing Mearto.
