寛文美人図|Beauty of the Kanbun Era

Unknown

late 17th century · Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper · Asian Art

Kanbun bijin, or “Beauty of the Kanbun Era,” is a generic name given to paintings of a woman standing against a neutral background. The tall woman wears her hair in an elaborate style called gosho-mage, or “palace chignon.” The designs on her outer kosode include areas of “fawn-spot” tie-dyeing interspersed with flower patterns, while decorated underlayers are also visible. Around the Kanbun period (1661–73) the width of the obi sash was still quite narrow.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 17th century

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015