Sheep by Morikawa Toen - Prewar Japanese Photograph of Sculpture, 1912–1930s

Sheep by Morikawa Toen (1820–1894)

Original vintage Japanese photograph depicting "Sheep", a wooden sculpture by Morikawa Toen, one of the leading Japanese woodcarvers of the 19th century. The reclining animal was carved from hinoki cypress. The historical identification card on the reverse dates the sculpture to the early Meiji period.

Morikawa Toen was a prominent master of Nara ittobori, a traditional school of Japanese woodcarving. He played an important role in its development as a recognized art form. His works included animal sculptures and figures from traditional Japanese theatre. In 1893, his celebrated wooden deer sculptures were exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

The photograph also documents the history of the sculpture itself. The handwritten record on the reverse identifies it as belonging to the collection of the Tokyo Fine Arts School. Today, "Sheep" is preserved in the University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts, under inventory number SC171. The museum dates the sculpture to the 19th century, spanning the Edo and Meiji periods.

The photograph is attributed to the prewar Taishō–early Shōwa period (1912–1930s). It is a historical photographic record of an identified work of Japanese sculpture, preserving both its image and an earlier institutional attribution.

From a private Japanese collection.

Size (approx.): 10 × 15 cm.

Condition: Good vintage condition, with minor signs of age and handling. Handwritten identification record on the reverse.

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