Shamisen and Box

Description

In this print, Yabu Chosui depicted a black-lacquer box with a furoshiki wrapping cloth and a shamisen leaning against it. The highly burnished black box has the design of a house mark on it, which is playfully hidden by the neck of the shamisen. Chosui frequented the pleasure quarters and created a number of geisha-related prints, and this mark likely represents the name of a geisha establishment.

Shamisen and Box

Yabu Chosui

1860s

Accession Number

42243

Medium

Color woodblock print; surimono

Dimensions

24.8 × 8.5 cm (9 3/4 × 3 3/8 in.)

Classification

woodblock print

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Charles H. Mitchell Collection unrestricted gift