Bullfinch and Blossoms Glass Paperweight by Hokusai

Glass half dome paperweight with image Bullfinch bird on a branch with blossoms by Hokusai, a Japanese wood block artist. The colors are a rich blue background and orange-red on the bird's chest and neck.

Hokusai belongs to the best known, most innovative, and, with 30,000 designs, the most productive ukyio-e artists. At a young age he learned the basics of wood black cutting. St the age of 19 he got a job at the renowned Katsukawa Shunsko studios. After 13 years the determined Hokusai left the studios following an argument. Traveling about restlessly, he changed his artist name many times. Around forty years of age he eventually called himself Hokusai. Not until he was in his sixties, did he make his most famous works.