A VIBRANT collection of 19th century Japanese art is among the eye-catching offerings at Greenslade Taylor Hunt’s next monthly sale.

The folio of 54 paintings originally started life as a book and comes from a deceased estate.

The collection is guided at £800 to £1,200.

It dates from the mid-1800s, when Japan was only just beginning to open up to the West following centuries of self-imposed isolation.

GTH valuer Simon Rayner said: “I do like the woodblock prints.

"As they’ve lived their life in a folio, rather than framed on walls, the colours are still as vibrant as they would have been when the prints were made in the 1850s.”

The artwork from this period had a profound influence on European artists like Edgar Degas and Vincent van Gough, who was an avid collector of Japanese artwork.

Indeed Simon remembers writing lots of essays about this for his degree in fine arts.

The sale takes place on Thursday, March 2, at The Octagon Salerooms, East Reach, Taunton.

For more information, contact the saleroom on 01823 332525.