Courtesan with Fan and Koto

late 18th century

Not on view

An elegant courtesan, her coiffure festooned with a complex array of hairpins, glances sideways while holding a round fan (uchiwa). Her pale purple kimono, overlaying a red undergarment, is decorated in the lower section with autumn flowers, bush clover (hagi), and bellflowers (kikyō). Her obi is knotted in the front, as is the wont of courtesans. Behind her is a fine-quality koto (a type of zither) and bound libretto, signals of her cultural accomplishments.

Although Eishi’s early training was in the academic style of the Kano atelier masters, he switched his allegiance to the Ukiyo-e school, specializing in paintings and prints of refined, high-ranking courtesans.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

団扇立美人図 (Uchiwa tachi bijin zu)
Title: Courtesan with Fan and Koto
Artist: Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之 (Japanese, 1756–1829)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: late 18th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; color on silk
Dimensions: Image: 34 9/16 × 10 15/16 in. (87.8 × 27.8 cm)
Overall with mounting: 68 1/8 × 15 1/4 in. (173 × 38.7 cm)
Overall with knobs: 68 5/8 × 17 3/8 in. (174.3 × 44.1 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2020
Object Number: 2020.396.29
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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The Courtesan Hanaōgi of the Ōgiya Brothel (Ōgiya Hanaōgi), from the series Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters as Six Floral Immortals (Seirō bijin rokkasen), Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之 Japanese, Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper, Japan — The Courtesan Hanaōgi of the Ōgiya Brothel (Ōgiya Hanaōgi), from the series Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters as Six Floral Immortals (Seirō bijin rokkasen)
Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之
ca. 1794 (Kansei 6)

Men’s Stomping Dances (Otoko tōka) 男踏歌, Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之 Japanese, Woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper, Japan — Men’s Stomping Dances (Otoko tōka) 男踏歌
Multiple artists/makers
1798

Bellflowers (Asagao), from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Asagao), Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之 Japanese, Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan — Bellflowers (Asagao), from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Asagao)
Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之
1789–92

Zhou Maoshu Admiring Lotuses, Kaihō Yūsetsu Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on silk, Japan — Zhou Maoshu Admiring Lotuses
Kaihō Yūsetsu
mid-17th century

White Plum Blossoms and Moon, Itō Jakuchū Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, Japan — White Plum Blossoms and Moon
Itō Jakuchū
1755

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