The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 5, 2023

Child Reaching for a Fishbowl

c. mid 1720s

Nishimura Shigenaga

(Japanese, 1697?-1756)

Japan, Edo period

(1615-1868)

Hand-colored woodblock print

Sheet: 33.7 x 15.9 cm (13 1/4 x 6 1/4 in.)

The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith 1985.349

Location

not on view

Description

This early hand-colored print is enriched with a technique called urushi-e (literally “lacquer picture”), in which glue is painted over areas of black pigment, producing a lustrous surface reminiscent of lacquer. Metal filings sprinkled onto the designs of parasols, a fan, and musical instruments on the woman’s kimono enhance the sense of luxury.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signature: Yamato eshi Nishimura Shigenaga zu Artist Seal: Shigenaga Publisher: Izumiya Gonshiro (Benie kongen Asakusa mitsuke dobocho Gonshiro)

Provenance
R. E. Lewis, Inc.
Exhibition history

Cleveland Museum of Art, 1988: A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith Collection

Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; December 12, 2004- April 10, 2005. "Visions of Japan: Prints and Paintings from Cleveland Collections".

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).

Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - January-July 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art (January 9-July 10, 2017).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.349