Beschreibung:

Ink on paper, 16 x 10.75 in. (sight), matted, 26 x 20 in. overall. “'Ambassadors in Robes of State' - 6 with Samurai Swords." Unsigned. Accompanied by letter from Alfred Waud's great grandson dated February 14, 1977, in which he states that the drawing was left to him by Waud as part of his collection. Offered here is a rare sketch of the 1860 Japanese Embassy to the United States titled in an unknown hand. Rendered in pen and ink washes, the piece depicts six men of the Embassy. Presumably the seated gentleman and the other two wearing tate-eboshi (tall black hats, worn by samurai) are the three plenipotentiary members of the Embassy, Ambassador Shinmi Masaoki (新見正興, 1822-1869), Vice-Ambassador Muragaki Norimasa (村垣範正, 1813-1880) and Observer Oguri Tadamasa (小栗忠順, 1827-1868). The subjects are pictured wearing traditional Japanese dress and notably carry daishō, the matched pair of katana and wakizashi swords traditionally carried by the samurai class. One of the other men depicted stands in the background, wears less formal clothes, and is without a hat. He bears a resemblance to images of the youngest member of the delegation, translator Tateishi Onojirō (立石斧次郎, 1843-1917), affectionately known by the American crowds as “Tommy.” The Embassy was the first ever diplomatic mission from Japan dispatched to the United States. While Japan did have contact with Europe prior to establishing its isolationist Sakoku policy in the early 17th century, there had been no formal contact with early colonial America. With the arrival of Commodore Matthew C. Perry in Edo (Tokyo) Bay in July 1853, Japan began ending its isolationist policies. During this process the Treaty of Amity and Commerce was negotiated between Japan and the United States. Signed on July 29, 1858 on the USS Powhatan in Edo Bay and ratified by Japan on March 19,1859, the Embassy was organized to travel to the United State and exchange the ratifications. They arrived in Washington DC on May 14, 1860 and were formally presented to President Buchanan on the 17th. The ratifications were exchanged on the 22nd, a grand banquet was held on the 29th, and on their final visit on June 5th, the delegates were gifted with commemorative gold medals. The Japanese were met with great interest and enthusiasm at each point of their journey with the newspapers reporting huge crowds. Two pencil drawings by Waud documenting the same visit are housed in the Library of Congress, “Scene in the corridor; outside the Japanese apartments at Willards showing on of the princes the use of the microscope and stereoscope” and “One of the Rooms at Willards in which the Japanese will be located -- and where their reception will take place” (DRWG/US - Waud, no. 606 and 609). Both are impromptu sketches not showing the delicate ink washes seen here that give this more complete drawing depth and humanity. Noted battlefield artist Alfred R. Waud (1828-1891) was born and raised in London, where he attended the Government School of Design at Somerset House before immigrating to the United States in 1850. Upon his arrival, Waud worked primarily as a freelance artist until May of 1861 when he was retained as a sketch artist and special correspondent by the New York Illustrated Newspaper to report on the war. At the close of 1861, Waud joined Harper's Weekly, where he was employed through the end of the war. He continued to work for Harper's Weekly in addition to a number of other publishers following the war and his career flourished. While touring battlefields in the South in 1891, Waud died in Marietta, GA. The Library of Congress houses most of his original wartime sketches, with some remaining in private hands. Provenance:The John O'Brien Collection Condition: Lower right corner bent.