id:			152433
accession number:	1985.261
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1985.261
updated:		2022-04-27 09:00:40.805000

Courtesan Reading a Letter, early 1800s. Teisai Hokuba (Japanese, 1771–1844), calligraphy by Ōta Nanpo (Japanese, 1749–1823). Two-panel folding screen; ink and color on paper; image: 156.8 x 165.4 cm (61 3/4 x 65 1/8 in.); overall: 175.2 x 183.5 cm (69 x 72 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith 1985.261

title:				Courtesan Reading a Letter
title in original language:	文読む遊女図
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			early 1800s
creation date earliest:		1800
creation date latest:		1823
current location:		235A Japanese
creditline:			The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
copyright:			

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culture:	Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)
technique:	two-panel folding screen; ink and color on paper
department:	Japanese Art
collection:	ASIAN - Folding screen
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Teisai Hokuba (Japanese, 1771–1844)  - painter

* Ōta Nanpo (Japanese, 1749–1823)  - calligraphy by

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measurements: Image: 156.8 x 165.4 cm (61 3/4 x 65 1/8 in.); Overall: 175.2 x 183.5 cm (69 x 72 1/4 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	painting: Signed: Teisai.
Sealed: Hokuba.
calligraphy: Signed: Shokusanjin.
	translation:	
	remark:		

	inscription:	
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith Collection
	opening date:   1988-09-14T04:00:00
	<i>A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith Collection</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 14-November 13, 1988).

	title:		Unfolding Beauty:  Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art
	opening date:   2001-07-15T00:00:00
	<i>Unfolding Beauty:  Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 15-September 16, 2001).

	title:		Japan's Floating World (Japanese art rotation) 235
	opening date:   2022-04-08T04:00:00
	<i>Japan's Floating World (Japanese art rotation) 235</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (April 8-October 9, 2022).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* <em>Visions of Japan: Prints and Paintings from Cleveland Collections</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 12, 2004–April 10, 2005).

* <em>Japanese Gallery 236 Rotation</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 13–November 16, 2015).

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PROVENANCE

	(David Newman, London, England, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kelvin Smith)
	date: ?–1974
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Kelvin Smith Collection, Cleveland, OH, given by Mrs. Kelvin [Eleanor Armstrong] Smith [1899–1998] to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 1974–1985
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1985–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall description: 
Ukiyo-e artists and collaborating poets introduced imagery from classical literature to add layers of meaning to their work. Here, a courtesan pores over a letter from an admirer, and the poem next to her reads as follows: "Having been asked to stay over, / I stayed on—and for a good reason. / It’s way past midnight / and the lady is that (legendary implorer) Amagoi Komachi." Midnight was closing time in Yoshiwara, the licensed brothel district of Edo (now Tokyo). Amagoi, or “Praying for Rain,” Komachi refers to ninth-century poet Ono no Komachi—known for her compelling verse and great beauty—and one of her famous compositions.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	“Checklist of the Kelvin Smith Bequest.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>, vol. 75, no. 7, 1988, pp. 292–295.
	page number: 	Mentioned: p. 294
	url:		https://www.jstor.org/stable/25160040

	Cunningham, Michael R. <em>Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.
	page number: 	Reproduced: pp. 68-69. Cat. no. 31
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1985.261/1985.261_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1985.261/1985.261_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1985.261/1985.261_full.tif