Mallards Beneath Snow-Laden Reeds

Artist Utagawa Hiroshige I 歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797–1858)

Dateabout 1835

Mediumwoodblock ; ink and colors on paper; o-tanzaku

Dimensions37.8 x 17.5 cm (14 7/8 x 6 7/8 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

Terms

Object number1901.59.1472

DescriptionBird: Mallards, Anas platyrhynchos Linneaus
Label TextTwo wild mallards (ma-gamo), one preening its feathers and the other "upending" and submerging its head under the water, swim beneath snow-laden, broken reeds (ashi) and falling snow. The drake mallard is easily identified because of its shiny dark-green head and neck, its white neck-ring and its rump with black, curled feathers and white tail. This design is one of the finest of the twenty-five known o-tanzaku format prints designed by Hiroshige. The printer of this early impression took great care in rendering the descending shading of the sky (ten-bokashi) and the rising shading (bokashi) of the icy water to help evoke an atmosphere cold air and loneliness. Embossing with an uninked block (karazuri) also enhances the impression of soft, white feathers. The inscribed haiku poem reads: Calls of wild ducks- As the breeze sets ripples Moving over the water. Kamo naki ya / kaze fukishiwamu / mizu no omo Sugisaka Hyakumei, d. 1784ProvenanceJohn Chandler Bancroft

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