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「戯童十二候」 牡丹の花壇
Peony Exhibit, from the series Twelve Months of Playful Children (Gidô jûnigatsu)
「戯童十二候」 牡丹の花壇
Japanese
Edo period
about 1783 (Tenmei 3)
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Vertical chûban; 26.1 x 19.4 cm (10 1/4 x 7 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.19383
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
The inscription on the prints in this series give only the series title, and the viewer must guess the month from the activities shown. In what is most likely the sixth month, four well-dressed children from a samurai-class family enjoy a peony show. A little girl in a flowered kimono points out the gorgeous blossoms to her formally dressed older brothers, while the baby brother dances with excitement, happily ignoring both his siblings and the flowers.
Catalogue Raisonné
Chiba Museum, Torii Kiyonaga (2007), list #177-3 (no photo); Ukiyo-e shûka 2 (1985), list #221.3; Hirano, Kiyonaga (1939), #488, pl. XXX
Signed
Kiyonaga ga
清長画
清長画
ProvenanceBy 1911, purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850 - d. 1926), Boston [see note 1]; 1911, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date: August 3, 1911)
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.