Hi everyone,
I’d really like to find a better quality image of this print, attribuited to Eishosai Choki.
Eishōsai Chōki (wiki)
(Japanese, active ca. 1786–1808)
Also known as: Momokawa Choki, Eishosai Shiko, Hyakusen Eishosai, Momokawa Shiko, Shotei
Google search have broungh me here, and also on the Met and of the British Museum sites.
Years ago, I found the small image I’ve uploaded here on artnet.com; the work was described there as:
“The courtesan Kisegawa of the Matsubaya and her kamuro admiring a potted bonsai tree”.
However, I can no longer view any image there (the print has likely been sold) – maybe someone with a premium artnet account can still see it.
This work ( 松葉屋内染紫 (?)) is believed to be part of the renowned series titled 青楼美人合 *Seirō bijin awase* (translatable as “Collection of Beauties of the Green Houses” or “Comparison of Yoshiwara Beauties”), published by the publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō around the mid-1790s.
This is all the information I’ve found. If anyone manages to find a higher-quality image — whether online, in books, or elsewhere — I would be absolutely delighted.
Thanks
Jon
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You have some but not all of your facts straight here...
The courtesan is indeed Kisegawa of the Matsubaya, but Kisegawa is "喜瀬川", not "染紫"). And while it was indeed common to title brothel prints using the construction "<house> uchi <courtesan>" -- so this design could have been "Matsubaya uchi Kisegawa" 松葉屋内喜瀬川, but here for whatever stylistic reason there is no "uchi", just the name of the brothel followed by the name of the courtesan.
The title of the series is "Seirō shōchikubai" 青楼松竹梅. MFA Boston has two designs from the series, but not this one:
https://collections.mfa.org/objects/232462
https://collections.mfa.org/objects/328856
MFA translates the series title as "Pine, Bamboo, and Plum in the Pleasure Quarters".
The publisher is Murataya Jirobei 村田屋次郎兵衛. Andreas Marks dates the series to "early 1800s" (i.e. 1800-1805).
I have not located an image of the design, but I see impression mentioned in an exhibition catalog from 2017:
https://www.bonsai-art-museum.jp/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/a3a57906dc3dc6b8de81475e72d3e7e1.pdf
Unfortunately, it looks like the print in question was on loan from a private collector, not named. I double-checked the collection of the Bonsai Art Museum, and did not find it there.
-A
Thank you for the information and corrections; They will certainly be useful to me for future further research on this print.