Snapshots of the Past

[Blind monks examining an elephant] – Vintage Print

[Blind monks examining an elephant] — historic print
[Blind monks examining an elephant]. Historic print from the Japanese Prints collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This rare historic print captures [Blind monks examining an elephant] in remarkable detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

[Blind monks examining an elephant]

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Blind monks crowd around a single elephant here, each feeling a different part of the animal, a detail that distinguishes this scene from simpler versions of the subject. The story comes from Buddhist teaching, where it illustrates how people who grasp only a fragment of the truth can argue with great confidence about the whole. Japanese artists adopted the parable readily and often treated it with gentle humor about certainty and limited understanding. Made sometime between 1814 and 1878, this two-sheet color woodcut reflects the busy print culture of the late Edo and early Meiji years, when moral tales like this one reached many ordinary buyers.

Medium1 print (2 pages) : woodcut, color.
Genredreams and substances
Notes[between 1814 and 1878]
SubjectsBuddhist monks--Japan--1810-1880. Parables--Japan--1810-1880. Blind persons--Japan--1810-1880. Elephants--Japan--1810-1880.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan3,660 × 4,559 px · prints to 12 × 15 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-222093

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