Kiyomori's Daughter Painting a Self-Portrait to Send to Her Mother
Woodblock Print
late 1790s (made)
late 1790s (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is a nishiki-e (brocade print), so called because its rich palette of colours is likened to nishiki or silk brocades. Eishi (about 1756-1829) was a follower of Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806). He was an artist of elevated samurai rank who abandoned his career as an official painter to become an artist of ukiyo-e (pictures of the Floating World). In this print, the daughter of twelfth-century statesman Taira no Kiyomori writes a letter to her mother. Rather than wearing twelfth-century dress, however, she appears as a fashionable beauty of the late 1700s.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Kiyomori's Daughter Painting a Self-Portrait to Send to Her Mother (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Colour print from woodblocks |
| Brief description | Print: Eishi: 'Kiyomuri's daughter Painting a Self-Portrait to Send to Her Mother', Japanese, late 1790s |
| Physical description | This print may be the middle sheet of what was once a triptych; the three works were connected by a yellow cloud configuration (see top section of print). The beauty is depicted with slender proportions, which was a feature of Eishi's work during the latter part of the Kansei era (1789-1801). Oban size. Signature: Eishi zu. Publisher: Nishimuraya Yohachi. Censorship seal: kiwame |
| Gallery label | Sending a selfie is a lot easier now than it used to be, and it’s a great way to show your friends and family how you are.
[Young V&A, Imagine Gallery short object label] (2023) |
| Object history | Purchased from Messrs. A. W. Perry & Co., accessioned in 1897. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Summary | This is a nishiki-e (brocade print), so called because its rich palette of colours is likened to nishiki or silk brocades. Eishi (about 1756-1829) was a follower of Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806). He was an artist of elevated samurai rank who abandoned his career as an official painter to become an artist of ukiyo-e (pictures of the Floating World). In this print, the daughter of twelfth-century statesman Taira no Kiyomori writes a letter to her mother. Rather than wearing twelfth-century dress, however, she appears as a fashionable beauty of the late 1700s. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.11-1897 |
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| Record created | December 9, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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