Lot n° 32
Estimation :
50000 - 70000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 106 272EUR
Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) - Lot 32
Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806)
Oban tate-e, courtesan applying eyebrow makeup. Traces of mica on the mirror. Signed Utamaro hitsu, publisher Iseya Magobei, censor stamp kiwame. Circa 1795-1796 (minor restorations).
Dim. 37.9 x 25.1 cm
A woman looks into the mirror, correcting the make-up on her eyebrows. The reflective aspect of the mirror is materialized by a mixture of gray pigments and mica. Originally an object of worship, the mirror has become an object of value, offered and preciously preserved. Make-up in the Edo period marked a woman's social status, and there were four types of make-up: blackening of teeth, shaving or eyebrow make-up, application of lipstick and white pigment on the nape of the neck and neckline. High-ranking Yoshiwara oiran, at the cutting edge of fashion, followed the rules dedicated to samurai women, namely blackening their teeth and shaving their eyebrows.
References
This print was featured in the exhibition The Riddles of Ukiyo-e. Women and Men in Japanese Prints 1765-1865, Japan Museum SieboldHuis, Leiden, 2023. Reproduced in the exhibition catalog, pp. 46-47
Similar prints reproduced in Asano & Clark. The Passionate Art of Kitagawa Utamaro (1995) 2 vols. #250
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue

