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

Object Information

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

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

Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese — Helmet (*Zukinnari Kabuto*)
Japanese
16th century

Shakyamuni triad, Unidentified artist, Hanging scroll; color and gold on silk, Korea — Shakyamuni triad
Unidentified artist
1565

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)

Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese — Armor (*Gusoku*)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries

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