Chinese Beauty
late 1700s–early 1800s
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
184.2 × 53.3 cm · image: 96 × 37 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Kelvin Smith Fund
Accession Number
1988.1
Tags
About this artwork
Ukiyo-e artists’ exploration of beautiful people extended to figures from other lands. Here, an elegant Chinese palace lady holding a fan stands before a banana plant. The poem at the top is written in a Japanese appropriation of Chinese called kanbun. Based on its imagery of a palanquin (an enclosed couch with poles used for carrying passengers), silk fan, and autumn winds, it may allude to the story of Lady Ban (about 48 BC–about AD 2). A Chinese beauty famous for her scholarly achievements, B...