Object data
nishikie, with metallic pigments and blindprinting
height 195 mm × width 83 mm
anonymous
A Cloth Wrapper and Koto Bridges
Japan, c. 1800 - c. 1805
Provenance
…; purchased from the dealer Hotei Japanese Prints, Leiden, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1986;1 by whom donated to the museum, 1991
Object number: RP-P-1991-588
Credit line: Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse
Copyright: Public domain
Context
It is likely that the poet Ryusai Chimata - who placed a large circular seal reading `Ryusai' on the print - was the owner of the Ryusai Studio that produced surimono by various designers, e.g., the untitled hexaptych by Shinsai (RP-P-1958-522, RP-P-1958-523, RP-P-1958-524, RP-P-1958-525, RP-P-1958-525X and RP-P-1958-526), Chiharu (RP-P-1958-558) and Kunisada (RP-P-1958-460). Chikuho Suga also has Chimata as the compiler of a manuscript associated with Yomo no Utagaki Magao, dating to 1810.2
Entry
A still life of the protective cloth case for a zither, koto, decorated with floral motifs, two koto-bridges in the foreground.
This design conforms to the vogue for books on antiquities or rarities preserved in various provinces of Japan, which started in the late 18th century. It may even be directly based on an illustration in one such publication.
Two poems by Ryusai Chimata and Nanbogaki Makaze [a judge of the Yomogawa].
The Cloth Wrapper for the Sceptre and Koto Bridges Preserved at the Horyuji in Nara, Nanto Horyuji shozo shakugoromo narabi kotoji no zu.
Issued by the poets
Unsigned
Produced by the Ryusai [Chimata] Studio
Literature
M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 196
Citation
M. Forrer, 2013, 'anonymous, A Cloth Wrapper and Koto Bridges, Japan, c. 1800 - c. 1805', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.422485
(accessed 14 November 2024 21:25:56).