Koson 小原古邨: Flowering Plum and Moon

Artist: Ohara Kōson (1877-1945)
Title: Flowering Plum and Full Moon Date: ca 1920s-30s

A flowering plum stretches across our view of a full moon, the petals dropping as we watch, white against the evening sky. Evocative and somehow quite dramatic, this design is unusual in Koson's oeuvre in that it does not include birds, insects or animals. This edition was probably sponsored by Robert Mueller in the early 1930s or so. The subject of a flowering plum with a full moon was a popular motif for Japanese painters; the plum blossoms symbolized the arrival of spring as well as the trait of perseverance. 

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: 36.8 x 19.1 cm
Literature:Crows, Cranes and Camellias (2010), K 43.2 and catalog number 130, page 193. See National Museum of Asian Art.

Publisher: Daikokuya (?)Seal: Koson  Signature: Koson

SKU: KOS241