Two famous beauties share a red silk-wrapped scroll

Two women stand close together, one holding a scroll wrapped in patterned red silk and tied with a green cord, the other's hand resting lightly on it as she looks down. Both wear elaborate combs and long hairpins; the woman at left wears an ochre robe patterned with tea-house utensils and characters, while her companion's kimono is salmon pink strewn with small blossoms. Faint ghost impressions of collector's seals show through the paper near the shoulder. The artist's signature and two round seals appear at right, identifying the sitters as Osen of the Kagiya teahouse and Takashima Ohisa.

Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1753–1806) defined the ukiyo-e portrait of women. Working with the publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō in the 1790s, he introduced the ōkubi-e, or large-head print, which brought the viewer close enough to read a glance or a gesture, and he gave the beauties of the Yoshiwara district individual faces and names. Mica grounds, transparent textiles and fine line work made his prints the most refined of their day. His work is held by the British Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Printed as a museum-grade giclée on Hahnemühle fine art paper using 12-ink archival pigment printing. Available handframed in FSC-certified wood with optional float glass, or unframed. Ships worldwide with free delivery to 30+ countries.