The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

Cleaning Combs

c. late 1790s

Kitagawa Utamaro

(Japanese, c. 1754–1806)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
color woodblock print
Sheet: 38.2 x 25.4 cm (15 1/16 x 10 in.)
Bequest of Edward L. Whittemore 1930.216
Location: Not on view

Description

In this print, a mother who has put up her child's hair into a neat bun cleans the comb. By the latter part of the Kansei era, or 1789-1801, Utamaro was frequently incorporating the activities of daily life into his images of beauties. Beyond serving as portraits, and depicting the bonds between mothers and children, the prints also take the view of a detached observer in their representations of everyday settings.
  • (Yamanaka & Co., sold to Edward L. Whittemore)
    ?–1930
    Edward L. Whittemore [1862–1930], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1930–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Hollis, Howard C. “The Edward Loder Whittemore Collection of Japanese Prints.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 17, no. 4 (April 1930): 64–66. www.jstor.org
    Jenkins, Donaldドナルド. ジェンキンス, et. al, and Tobita Shigeo 飛田茂雄, translator. ミネアポリス美術館. ポートランド美術館 [= Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Portland Art Museum, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art.] Ukiyo-e shūka 浮世絵聚花; 9. Tōkyō: Shō gakukan 小学館, Showa 56 [1981]. Reproduced: colorplate 145
  • Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 14, 2012-January 20, 2013).
    Japanese Prints from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 5-October 28, 1934).
  • {{cite web|title=Cleaning Combs|url=false|author=Kitagawa Utamaro|year=c. late 1790s|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1930.216