Beauty Holding a Fan Seated beside a Pot of Morning Glory

Dateca. 1830-44

Label TextA beautiful woman holding a fan sits next to a pot of morning glory, which symbolizes youthful beauty. She wears her floral kimono loosely, and her red under-kimono suggestively uncovers her white bare feet—all signals that she is a courtesan.

Object number2015.17.2

Provenance[Sebastian Izzard, New York]; purchased from gallery by Allan Kollar, Seattle, Washington, 2009; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2015

Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Fleeting Beauty: Japanese Woodblock Prints, Apr. 1 - July 4, 2010. Text by Catherine Roche. Cat. no. 50, reproduced p. 73. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view July 16 - Dec. 5, 2021].

Credit LineGift of Mary and Allan Kollar

Dimensions38 x 13 3/4 in. (96.5 x 34.9 cm)

MediumInk and color on silk