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Kiyomori's Daughter Painting a Self-Portrait to Send to Her Mother

Woodblock Print
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

Category
Object type
TitleKiyomori'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
(01/07/2023)
Bottom left: Kiyomori’s Daughter Painting a Self-Portrait to Send to Her Mother

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.

Made by Chōbunsai Eishi
About 1795
Japan
Woodblock colour print on paper
Museum no. E.11-1897

[Young V&A, Imagine Gallery, This is Me, short object label]
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 createdDecember 9, 2002
Record URL
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