A Cloth Wrapper and Koto Bridges

anonymous, c. 1800 - c. 1805

Stilleven met een hoes van stof voor een Japanse citer (koto). Op de voorgrond kammen voor de snaren van een koto.

  • Artwork typeprint, surimono
  • Object numberRP-P-1991-588
  • Dimensionsheight 195 mm x width 83 mm
  • Physical characteristicsnishikie, with metallic pigments and blindprinting

Identification

  • Title(s)

    A Cloth Wrapper and Koto Bridges

  • Object type

  • Object number

    RP-P-1991-588

  • Description

    Stilleven met een hoes van stof voor een Japanse citer (koto). Op de voorgrond kammen voor de snaren van een koto.

  • Part of catalogue

  • Catalogue reference

    • Forrer 196
    • Goslings 117

Creation

  • Creation

    printmaker: anonymous, Japan

  • Dating

    c. 1800 - c. 1805

  • Search further with

Material and technique

  • Physical description

    nishikie, with metallic pigments and blindprinting

  • Dimensions

    height 195 mm x width 83 mm

Explanatory note

  • Een surimono is een luxe uitgevoerde prent waarop beeld met één of meerdere gedichten gecombineerd is. Bij het drukken van een surimono werd vaak gebruik gemaakt van dikker papier, blinddruk en metaal pigmenten, zoals koper- en zilverpoeder. De prenten werden vaak in opdracht van dichters gemaakt en als exclusief geschenk aan vrienden en relaties gegeven.

This work is about

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse

  • Acquisition

    gift 1991

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; purchased from the dealer Hotei Japanese Prints, Leiden, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1986;{Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 53, cat. no. 117} by whom donated to the museum, 1991

Documentation

Persistent URL

Questions?

Do you spot a mistake? Or do you have information about the object? Let us know!

anonymous

A Cloth Wrapper and Koto Bridges

Japan, c. 1800 - c. 1805

Provenance

…; purchased from the dealer Hotei Japanese Prints, Leiden, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1986;1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 53, cat. no. 117 by whom donated to the museum, 1991

Object number: RP-P-1991-588

Credit line: Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse

Context

It is likely that the poet Ryusai Chimata - who placed a large circular seal reading `Ryusai' on the print - was the owner of the Ryusai Studio that produced surimono by various designers, e.g., the untitled hexaptych by Shinsai (RP-P-1958-522, RP-P-1958-523, RP-P-1958-524, RP-P-1958-525, RP-P-1958-525X and RP-P-1958-526), Chiharu (RP-P-1958-558) and Kunisada (RP-P-1958-460). Chikuho Suga also has Chimata as the compiler of a manuscript associated with Yomo no Utagaki Magao, dating to 1810.2Suga, Chikuho, Kyoka shomoku shusei. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977, p. 53.

Entry

A still life of the protective cloth case for a zither, koto, decorated with floral motifs, two koto-bridges in the foreground.

This design conforms to the vogue for books on antiquities or rarities preserved in various provinces of Japan, which started in the late 18th century. It may even be directly based on an illustration in one such publication.

Two poems by Ryusai Chimata and Nanbogaki Makaze [a judge of the Yomogawa].

The Cloth Wrapper for the Sceptre and Koto Bridges Preserved at the Horyuji in Nara, Nanto Horyuji shozo shakugoromo narabi kotoji no zu.

Issued by the poets
Unsigned
Produced by the Ryusai [Chimata] Studio

Literature

M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 196

Citation

M. Forrer, 2013, 'anonymous, A Cloth Wrapper and Koto Bridges, Japan, c. 1800 - c. 1805', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200467504

(accessed 27 March 2026 13:58:54).

Footnotes

  • 1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 53, cat. no. 117
  • 2Suga, Chikuho, Kyoka shomoku shusei. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977, p. 53.