Anonymous
Panorama of Nara from Sarusawa pond , 1890’s
Archival pigment print on handmade washi paper 126.5 × 53.5 cm
Edition of 12 + 2 APs
Unframed, shipped flat, Delivery time: 3-4 weeks
A classic scenic view of Nara from the Sarusawa pond, facing North-East with on the left the five-storied pagoda of the Buddhist Kōfuku-ji temple and on the right the South Octagonal Hall (Nan’endō), of the same temple grounds behind the stone staircase leading to it. This temple houses a few of the most famous Buddhist sculptures.
Nara was the capital of Japan during the seventh century, under the name Heijō-kyō since it was founded in 710 by Empress Gemmei until 784 when the capital was transferred to Heian- kyō (nowadays Kyōto).
The Guimet Museum of Asian Arts in Paris houses a copy of this photograph in its original size: a print on albumen paper in the standard format of about 20 × 25 cm. This slightly posterior print was made by another studio with a panoramic cropping cutting off half of the image, printed on a different paper with gelatino bromide silver process and a stronger colouring in an aesthetic perceived as more authentically Japanese in following the trendy style of pictorialist photography and Japonisme at the turn of the century.