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虫籠持ち美人
In the summer and early fall, singing insects such as crickets were kept in tiny cages and enjoyed for their melodious chirping. Here, the young woman in alluringly translucent summer garments seems to be thinking about where she might hang the cage to best enjoy the sounds, while the little boy at her side wants her to hold the cage down so that he can have a good look at it.
Woman Holding Insect Cage, and Small Boy
虫籠持ち美人
Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese, 1725–1770)
Japanese
Edo period
about 1767–68 (Meiwa 4–5)
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Vertical chûban; 27.8 x 20.8 cm (10 15/16 x 8 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.19483
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
In the summer and early fall, singing insects such as crickets were kept in tiny cages and enjoyed for their melodious chirping. Here, the young woman in alluringly translucent summer garments seems to be thinking about where she might hang the cage to best enjoy the sounds, while the little boy at her side wants her to hold the cage down so that he can have a good look at it.
Catalogue Raisonné
Kobayashi, Harunobu taizen (2023), #119; MFA, Suzuki Harunobu (exh. cat., 2017), #88; Waterhouse, The Harunobu Decade (2013), #280; Ukiyo-e shûka 4 (1979), list #628, and supp. 1 (1982), pl. 61
Signed
Harunobu ga
春信画
春信画
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.