Posted by Guy Pepermans (81.11.241.133) on January 14, 2011 at 23:22:34:
In Reply to: Re: Utamaro unsigned part of! posted by Mikael on January 14, 2011 at 19:42:48:
Yes I found a match in Andreas Marks' "Publishers of Japanese Woodblock Prints: A Compendium". The seal is catalogued there as # 21-061, publisher # U448. According to Marks, this is an unclear Edo publisher 'Yamashoriya' (firm name 'Sh
ōkakudō) working during the 1730s-60s, releasing actor prints by Kiyohiro, Kiyomitsu, Kiyotsune and also beauty prints by Kiyohiro.
A major problem is that there is a lap of over 30 years with your print which dates first half 1790s. It could be that this publisher (or a successor) was still active at that time but there is also a possibility that this particular seal belongs to another publisher, not recorded yet. So, we are still stuck with your print.
Guy