Advanced Search 
正月の遊女と狆
Courtesan and Pekingese Dog at New Year
正月の遊女と狆
Totoya Hokkei (Japanese, 1780–1850)
Japanese
Edo period
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Shikishiban; 21 x 18.3 cm (8 1/4 x 7 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.20589
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
Pekinese dogs, with their long fur and large round eyes, were so different in appearance from Japanese dogs that they were considered a different species, called chin instead of inu, the usual Japanese word for dog. The exotic, imported Chinese pets were status symbols for fashionable people such as this courtesan of the Shinagawa district overlooking the bay, whose New Year kimono includes gold and silver threads depicted with metallic pigments.
Signed
Ôju Hokkei
応需北渓
応需北渓
InscriptionsPoems by Chôkatei Hinamitsu and Yayoian Hinamaru
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.