A woman pauses over an unrolled letter, pipe in hand

Seated on a golden-yellow ground, a woman in a mauve outer robe over a patterned under-kimono looks down, a slender white pipe resting across her fingers. A partly unrolled letter lies on the floor beside a small lacquered tobacco box and tray. Her black hair is piled high with several long pins. A cartouche scroll in the upper left carries the series title, with a red seal at bottom left.

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.