CalliopesBucket

Announcement    We specialize in fine giclee prints of Japanese ukiyo-e (浮世絵) and surimono (摺物) woodblocks, ink paintings, sumi-e (墨絵) or ink-wash paintings, and watercolors. We also offer individual customization for some of our prints. To create our reproductions, we start by identifying a print produced as close as possible to the first print run, from an early set of blocks.

It is little known that an ukiyo-e print produced during the 19th century today bears little resemblance to its initial appearance in color, and is often both dirty and heavily damaged. We use our knowledge of the way the vegetable inks used fade and change color over time, due to the increasing acidity of the mulberry bark paper used, and the way the paper itself degrades, to reconstruct the appearance of the print soon after production, using the initial print as a template (this applies to both ukiyo-e prints and ink-brush paintings, although ukiyo-e prints especially were originally treated as ephemeral artworks, with no thought given to preservation). For a detailed description of this process, please see the description for our reproduction of Hokusai's Great Wave (copy and paste this link to see: <https://www.etsy.com/listing/185294110/>). Our reproductions are printed using archival inks and acid-free archival paper, and have a lifetime of several centuries. We also provide a detailed description of the story behind each image in our listings.

We regularly add new artworks so check back often.

Some of the artworks can be customized at additional cost, such as colors, additions, and sizes. Customized orders are not refundable. If you are interested please send an Etsy "Conversation" or use the "Contact Shop Owner" button to request more information.

All our prints have a matte finish. We recommend that you use a mat when framing in order to prevent damage from the print contacting the glass, and to allow you to position the print in the frame as desired. We also advise that you use UV resistant glass in order to prevent fading due to long term exposure to sunlight.

Thanks for your interest in our artwork!

Calliope's Bucket