Overall. Image provided by gallery - not for public use.

Concert Party

Artist Utagawa Kunisada (Japanese, 1786 - 1865)

Dateca. 1835-1838

MediumHanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk

DimensionsImage: 22 × 30 1/2 inches (55.88 × 77.47 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: the Asian Art Acquisition Fund in memory of Laurence Sickman

Object number2026.21

Signed"Kochoro Kunisada ga"

On View

Not on view

Terms

DescriptionIn this painting, two fashionably dressed women and a child form a musical ensemble. At the center, one woman tunes a shamisen, the three-stringed lute. She gives an attentive gaze toward the child beside her, who enthusiastically strikes a hand drum. The second woman adjusts the bridges of a koto, the thirteen-stringed zither placed before her. These figures are set against a warm-toned negative space devoid of architectural or landscape details.
The woman in the center wears a teal outer robe adorned with crests and wave motifs over a red under-robe patterned with flowering cherry blossoms. A luxurious obi with stylized floral decoration holds her outfit. Her companion wears a purplish-gray robe that fades to beige at the hem and is decorated with chapter crests referencing the Tale of Genji, alongside autumnal floral motifs. Her sleeves are long (furisode), and her elaborately tied obi incorporates dragon, cloud, and lightning motifs. Multiple hair ornaments, including combs, pins, and ribbons, suggest the women’s identities as entertainers trained in music and dance. The child wears a purplish-brown robe over a red under-robe.
Provenance

Provenance

With dealer from Osaka, until 2023;

Consigned to Christies, lot 113, September 19, 2023;

Purchased by Sebastian Izzard, LLC, New York, 2023;

Purchased by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; 2026

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