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: --- 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: --- CREATORS * Teisai Hokuba (Japanese, 1771–1844) - painter * Ōta Nanpo (Japanese, 1749–1823) - calligraphy by --- 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: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith Collection opening date: 1988-09-14T04:00:00 A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith Collection. 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 Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. 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 Japan's Floating World (Japanese art rotation) 235. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (April 8-October 9, 2022). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Visions of Japan: Prints and Paintings from Cleveland Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 12, 2004–April 10, 2005). * Japanese Gallery 236 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 13–November 16, 2015). --- 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: --- 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. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS “Checklist of the Kelvin Smith Bequest.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 75, no. 7, 1988, pp. 292–295. page number: Mentioned: p. 294 url: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25160040 Cunningham, Michael R. Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. page number: Reproduced: pp. 68-69. Cat. no. 31 url: --- 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