Swimming Turtles

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Artist/Maker	Hiroshige, Utagawa (artist)
Place of origin	Japan (made)

There is a definite playfulnesss about the rendering of a pair of swimming turtles in this uchiwa-e, or rigid fan print, design by Hiroshige. Blue, an appropriately cool colour for the summer months, is predominant, while turtles, believed to live for 10,000 years, are symbolic of longevity and good fortune. The ribmarks visible on the surface of the print are evidence that it was salvaged from a made-up fan. Their contribution to the overall sense of composition suggests that Hiroshige anticipated their effect when creating the design.

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read Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e) Produced in their many thousands and hugely popular during the Edo period (1615 – 1868), these colourful woodblock prints, known as ukiyo-e, depicted scenes from everyday Japan.

Object details

Categories	Access_to_Images 2003 Prints SCRAN
Object type	Woodblock print
Title	Swimming Turtles (popular title)
Materials and techniques	Colour print from woodblocks
Brief description	Woodblock print, Utagawa Hiroshige I; Swimming Turtles; fan print, Japanese, ca. 1840-1842
Physical description	Fan print, aiban size. Artist signature: Hiroshige hitsu.
Dimensions	Approx. height: 220mm Approx. width: 290mm
Style	Edo Period
Credit line	Webb Bequest
Summary	There is a definite playfulnesss about the rendering of a pair of swimming turtles in this uchiwa-e, or rigid fan print, design by Hiroshige. Blue, an appropriately cool colour for the summer months, is predominant, while turtles, believed to live for 10,000 years, are symbolic of longevity and good fortune. The ribmarks visible on the surface of the print are evidence that it was salvaged from a made-up fan. Their contribution to the overall sense of composition suggests that Hiroshige anticipated their effect when creating the design.
Collection	East Asia Collection
Accession number	E.4836-1919

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Record created	February 12, 2004
Record URL	https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O92913/swimming-turtles-woodblock-print-hiroshige-utagawa/

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