hanging scroll;
painting
- Museum number
- 1913,0501,0.297
- Description
-
Painting, hanging scroll. Woman, dressed in black-checked kimono and plain brown belt tied in large diagonal knot across her back, standing with her arms drawn into her sleeves and smiling. Ink and colour on paper. Signed and sealed.
- Production date
- 1848-1854 (?)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 91.50 centimetres
-
Width: 27.40 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
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- Curator's comments
- Clark 1992
The woman, soberly dressed in a black-checked kimono and plain brown 'obi' tied in a large diagonal knot across her back, is probably a restaurant waitress or tradesman's wife. She stands with her arms drawn into her sleeves. Though quickly executed, the dry outlines have been surely placed and the washes of ink on the kimono skilfully modulated to suggest the sheen of the fabric. The alert, smiling face is softened by pale brown rather than grey outlines, and the oiled hairstyle neatly codified with a variety of deft grey and glossy black brushstrokes.
The combination of a 'Ryusai' signature and this particular 'Hiroshige' seal is characteristic of the more than 100 sets of landscape paintings thought to have been done by Hiroshige in the eighteen months prior to the autumn of Ka'ei 4 (1851) for distribution by the Tendo fief to their creditors, though the 'sai' character of the signature on the Tendo paintings generally has a long, trailing stroke down the right-hand side. The British Museum painting may be close to these in date.
Literature:
'(Hizo) Ukiyo-e taikan' ('Ukiyo-e Masterpieces in European Collections'), ed. Narazaki Muneshige. vol. 1, Tokyo, Kodansha, 1987, BW no. 52.
- Location
- On display (G93/dc17)
- Acquisition date
- 1913
- Acquisition notes
- The collection of Japanese and Chinese paintings belonging to Arthur Morrison was purchased by Sir William Gwynne-Evans, who presented it to the British Museum in 1913.
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1913,0501,0.297
- Additional IDs
-
Asia painting number: Jap.Ptg.1551 (Japanese Painting Number)
