Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Browse: 10610 objects

The Courtesan Kisegawa of the Matsubayafront

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Reference URL
?

Actions

Send e-mail

Contact us about this object

Send e-mail

Send to a friend

The Courtesan Kisegawa of the Matsubaya

Glossary (3)

gauffrage, nishiki-e, vegetable pigments

  • gauffrage

    Decorative embossing technique. In Japanese prints, it is also sometimes called 'blind printing'.

  • nishiki-e

    Nishiki-e literally means 'brocade pictures' and refers to multi-coloured woodblock prints.

  • vegetable pigments

    Vegetable pigments were used to create coloured dyes for Japanese prints, paintings, and textiles. These pigments often faded over time due to the chemical reactions they underwent.

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Publications online

  • Beauties of the Four Seasons by Mitsuko Watanabe

    Beauties of the Four Seasons

    Kitagawa Utamaro as a pupil of Toriyama Sekien (1712-88) of the Kano School. The leading characteristic of Utamaro’s bijinga was the innovative portraiture that differed from Kiyonaga’s bijinga but was as equally influential on artists as on the public. Utamaro's bijinga portrayed women, illustrate details of character, mood and expression with a delicate touch.

    In this bust portrait the Courtesan Kisegawa II from the Matsuba-ya House is looking to her left, putting the tips of her fingers under her chin, while holding a fan in her right hand. The small image in the circular cartouche top right gives a clue to the identity of the beauty (matsuba pine needles; ya arrow; kise(ru) pipe). This was a way of secretly referring to particular beauties, when the regulation of 1796 was imposed, that the name of women should not be mentioned on prints. The uchiwa-e (decoration on a non-folding fan) is purple morning glory which suggests early autumn. Both the fan and the white undergarment of her kimono are embossed in the method known as gauffrage, and her collar is printed with mica.

    The seal following his signature on this print, which reads 'honke' was Utamaro’s way of authenticating his own work.
  • Beauties of the Four Seasons by Mitsuko Watanabe

    Beauties of the Four Seasons

    Kitagawa Utamaro as a pupil of Toriyama Sekien (1712-88) of the Kano School. The leading characteristic of Utamaro’s bijinga was the innovative portraiture that differed from Kiyonaga’s bijinga but was as equally influential on artists as on the public. Utamaro's bijinga portrayed women, illustrate details of character, mood and expression with a delicate touch.

    In this bust portrait the Courtesan Kisegawa II from the Matsuba-ya House is looking to her left, putting the tips of her fingers under her chin, while holding a fan in her right hand. The small image in the circular cartouche top right gives a clue to the identity of the beauty (matsuba pine needles; ya arrow; kise(ru) pipe). This was a way of secretly referring to particular beauties, when the regulation of 1796 was imposed, that the name of women should not be mentioned on prints. The uchiwa-e (decoration on a non-folding fan) is purple morning glory which suggests early autumn. Both the fan and the white undergarment of her kimono are embossed in the method known as gauffrage, and her collar is printed with mica.

    The seal following his signature on this print, which reads 'honke' was Utamaro’s way of authenticating his own work.

© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum