One woman wipes her face as another grips her wrist

A woman in a red-and-white checked kimono presses a folded cloth to her cheek, elbow raised, while a second woman in a grey kimono patterned with faint clouds dries her own forearm with a towel and glances up at her. Both figures stand against a solid ochre-yellow ground. A cartouche at upper right gives the series title 娘日時計 (Sundial of Young Women) and the subtitle 午ノ刻 (The Hour of the Horse), with a note describing the scene as an ancient bathing custom. The artist's signature and two round seals appear at right.

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.