Untitled

The composition depicts a woman dressed in a kimono with a floral motif, her hair arranged in an updo, holding a large fan edged with a ribbon. At her feet lies a small white dog with black ears, and a modest pot of plants rests to her right. Japanese characters frame the scene, suggesting a poetic or celebratory context typical of surimono.

As a surimono, the print was likely produced for a private audience, allowing for finer carving and richer pigments than commercial ukiyo-e. Shuntei employed multiple woodblocks to apply distinct colors, achieving delicate shading on the kimono’s pattern and the dog’s fur. The ink work retains the crisp line quality characteristic of early 19th‑century Edo printing.

The print entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s holdings through acquisition in the early 20th century, though the precise path from its original private circulation to the museum remains undocumented. Its attribution to Katsukawa Shuntei aligns with the artist’s known activity in the late Edo period, when surimono were popular among literary and artistic societies.