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How to Identify Japanese Wood Carvings

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    • 1). Locate and inspect any written characters visible on the piece. The writing will identify the country of origin. Japanese writing has a distinctive look that is easily distinguished from Korean or Chinese. With the help of a letter chart for reference, you can determine if your work of art is actually of Japanese origin.

    • 2). Translate text or inscriptions after identifying them as Japanese text. You may need to enlist the help of someone fluent in Japanese to make out more complex characters. Most works will have an inscription of the artist's name in one of the corners. Some pieces may feature poetry or sections of writing that can help further identify the work within a certain era or style.

    • 3). Examine the reverse side of the work for any publisher's seals. Many pieces of Japanese wood art feature seals that signify the printing house, art collective or publisher responsible for the piece. These seals can be cross referenced with a collector's guidebook to learn more about the organizations behind the piece. Reproduced works often lack a publisher's seal, or even intentionally crop sections of the original work that would display a seal, so identifying genuine seals is a great way to distinguish original works from reproductions.

    • 4). Compare the work with well-known pieces from the same era, location or publishing house. Some famous Japanese artists also produced work under pseudonyms. Comparisons with other work from the same time and place can reveal hidden lineages and identify works that lack an artist's inscription.

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