[HAIBARA / HANDMADE JAPANESE FANS]. - [Two hand-painted round fans (uchiwa) in original woodblock-printed covers]. Tokyo, Haibara Naojiro, ca 1890.

. A beautiful and well-preserved pair of round hand fans painted in ink, colour and gofun on paper with handles of lacquer decorated with gold, and silk tasselled cords. The fans are decorated in rinpa style with a landscape scene and flowers, on the reverse one has a view of Mount Fuji and the other a bamboo scene highlighted with gold. One fan has one small chip at edge and a few tiny paper losses, the other is in fine condition. Size: 23.8 x 23 cm, length including handles 36 cm. Mounted in the original paper folders woodblock-printed in colours.Haibara, established in 1806, is one of Japan's oldest paper merchants and still operating in Nihonbashi in Tokyo. During the Edo period Haibara became famous for the decorated round fans (uchiwa) produced as a typical souvenir at that time. The third owner, Haibara Naojiro (1846-1910), worked close to artists like Shibata Zeshin, Kawanabe Kyosai and Kawabata Gyokusho who created the original designs for Haibara's products. A delightful pair of these handmade fans.