The Grandfather of Japanese Erotica · 1945–2019
Toshio Saeki — The Silk Edition
The Limited Edition Collection for Connoisseurs of Japanese Erotica.
Three works — Maiden, Muse and Queen — screen-printed onto silk from Toshio Saeki's artwork under exclusive licence. One hundred and sixty-one prints, forty-seven numbered sets, and never to be made again. Acquire a single silk print for £2,000, or the complete set of three for £6,000.
The Artist — Toshio Saeki
Born in Miyazaki in 1945, Toshio Saeki gained notoriety through the 1970s for an avant-garde vision that bound the traditions of shunga (erotica) and yōkaiga (the painting of spirits and monsters) to the flat, electric colour of postwar pop and manga.
He was not interested in making pleasant work. He saw his erotica as the subconscious of a culture in transition, exploring the psychological terrain of desire, fantasy and taboo, and preferring the tensions beneath intimacy to anything palatable. A dedicated following gathered over four decades; international recognition in London, Paris, Hong Kong and San Francisco came late, in the years before his death in 2019.
The Origin — Elizabeth Adams
The Silk Edition is the vision of Elizabeth Adams, the designer who saw Saeki's imagery as silk, and authored the narrative that carries it.
In 2000, following an introduction by fashion photographer and contemporary artist Justin Chan, Elizabeth Adams reimagined the work of Toshio Saeki in an entirely new form. Recognising something distinctive in the imagery, a psychological depth and symbolic exploration of sexuality, she secured the licence to bring three of Saeki's works to silk crepe satin.
Rather than conventional prints, the works were conceived as luxury silk objects for the intimate interior, telling a narrative of sexual exploration through three images Adams first titled Patience Is A Virtue, Hot Wax and Moon Fever.
The pieces were produced with the assistance of Diane Rowenowski, one of Vivienne Westwood's master pattern cutters and seamstresses, and released as limited-edition cushions through London's iconic boutique Coco de Mer.
More than two decades later, Adams has reimagined the final silk prints to reflect the deeper archetypes of womanhood — Maiden, Muse and Queen — a symbolic language of her own devising for a woman's journey from awakening, through relational exchange, to full sovereignty.
The Collection — Maiden, Muse & Queen
Maiden — Awakening (formerly “Moon Fever”)
Maiden is the moment of awakening, when a woman first becomes aware of men's interest in her. She is excited and afraid, running from it and running toward it at the same time, discovering the mysterious pull of desire.
Muse — Surrender & Exchange (formerly “Hot Wax”)
Muse embodies the stage of surrender and exchange, where a woman bends to her lover's will with the open expectation that he will meet her with equal devotion. The work features shibari, the Japanese art of rope bondage.
Queen — Sovereignty (formerly “Patience is a Virtue”)
Queen reflects the moment of sovereignty, a woman fully established in her power, her lover serving her according to her own desires.
What You Acquire
Three silk prints. Maiden, Muse and Queen, screen-printed onto fine silk crepe satin from Saeki's licensed artwork, each approximately 20 × 20 in (51 × 51 cm).
Numbered, with a certificate. One set of forty-seven, three works apiece. The Certificate of Authenticity, issued by Elizabeth Adams, gives your edition number.
Delivered rolled, yours to make your own. Presented in archival, acid-free wrapping and delivered rolled, ready to hang, frame or transform. Worldwide shipping by private courier as standard. A length of printed silk is a beginning as much as an object: repurpose it into something of your own. 100% silk; please follow standard silk care.
Acquire the Edition
Take a single print for £1,500, or the complete set of three — Maiden, Muse and Queen — for £3,800. Pay securely by card, or enquire and we will answer personally. This is a closed edition, never to be reproduced.