Paul Jacoulet, The Treasure. Korea and Key Block (Limited Edition)

Notes: Signed by the artist in the lower right. Butterfly seal. Printed on the artist's paper watermarked on the left with the artist's initials, above "PJ", and below in Japanese. Carver Maeda Kentaro. Printer Honda Tetsunosuke. Sections of the metal ornament of the wardrobe and the rose-colored garment are embossed. According to Miles catalog: Edition number 350, fewer than 150 impressions pulled. This classic portrait of a happy and content mother and child was one of best received prints by Jacoulet. The key block shows the incredibly minute and precise carving of eyebrows and eyelashes by the virtuoso carver Maeda. The border between the blue part of the child's head and the white face is skillfully printed by master printer Honda who used subtle "bokashi" shading and was able to render the delicate pressure mark on the child's forehead. More than 300 impressions were sold pre-war, at approximately $15.00 a print, when that was a considerable amount. At around 1965-70, that same work brought $4,000 or the entire cost of the original edition. Captain Centner was an American Navy pilot who befriended Paul Jacoulet while stationed in Japan after World War II. He was fascinated by the exquisite, high artistic standard of Jacoulet's prints, and he purchased almost all of Jacoulet's artworks directly from the artist. The artist and the collector corresponded with each other until Jacoulet's death in 1960, and their letters now reside in the collection of the Musee du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, in France. The prints Captain Centner purchased have been kept in the family archive and well-preserved.