Screen and Utensils for the Incense Ceremony

19th century

Not on view

Surimono, literally "printed matter", are high-quality, limited-edition, privately commissioned, woodblock-printed "greeting cards," mainly produced between the 1790s and the 1830s, and usually ordered for New Year's greetings. On this surimono by Shunman, we can see preparations for an incense ceremony: an incense tray is depicted with an incense heater and tools for burning the incense. A piece of hot charcoal is placed in the ash to warm the small piece of incense wood, so it can release its fragrance. The ash and the charcoal are handled and shaped with the fire tools. The preparations take place behind a curtained partition, which suggests a wedding or a special celebration. There are three poems depicted on the print. The first poem suggests a wedding; the second, a hazy spring moon and plum flowers; and the third, Mount Fuji and the first song of spring by the bush warbler. All the motifs have auspicious meanings, as they evoke spring and therefore the renewal of life—appropriate symbols for a New Year's greeting.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Screen and Utensils for the Incense Ceremony
Artist: Kubo Shunman (Japanese, 1757–1820)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 19th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions: 8 1/16 x 7 1/4 in. (20.5 x 18.4 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Object Number: JP2003
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Kubo Shunman

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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Two Actors; a Scene from the Soga Play, Kubo Shunman Japanese, Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper, Japan — Two Actors; a Scene from the Soga Play
Kubo Shunman
19th century

Various moths and butterflies, Kubo Shunman Japanese, Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper, Japan — Various moths and butterflies
Kubo Shunman
19th century

Pipe and Tobacco Pouch
From the Spring Rain Collection (Harusame shū), vol. 1, Kubo Shunman Japanese, Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper, Japan — Pipe and Tobacco Pouch From the Spring Rain Collection (Harusame shū), vol. 1
Kubo Shunman
ca. 1810s

Court Woman at her Desk with Poem Cards, Kubo Shunman Japanese, Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper, Japan — Court Woman at her Desk with Poem Cards
Kubo Shunman
1795 (Year of the Rabbit)

Courtesan with Client before a Tokonoma Alcove, Kubo Shunman Japanese, Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper, Japan — Courtesan with Client before a Tokonoma Alcove
Kubo Shunman
1798

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