Hanging Tobacco Set
19th century
Medium
Part of an album of woodblock prints (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
7 5/8 x 10 7/8 in. (19.4 x 27.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
JP2246
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate charm of *Hanging Tobacco Set*, a 19th-century woodblock by Ryūryūkyo Shinsai, a master of the ukiyo-e tradition during Japan's Edo period (1615–1868). This intimate scene, part of a luxurious surimono album—privately commissioned prints often shared among poetry circles—captures a suspended array of tobacco pipes and accessories. Rendered in vibrant ink and color on paper (7 5/8 x 10 7/8 in.), it reflects the era's fascination with everyday luxuries after tobacco arrived from the West in the 17th century, blending foreign novelty with Japanese refinement. Shinsai's artist...
About the Artist
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai · 1799–1823
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai (柳々居辰斎), active from 1799 to 1823, was a prominent Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker based in Edo (modern Tokyo), renowned for his mastery of surimono—luxurious, privately commissioned woodblock prints produced for elite poetry circles and New Year's celebrations. He began his training under Tawaraya Sōri before becoming a student of the legendary Katsushika Hokusai, from whom he recei...