////Suzuki Harunobu. Shunga. A couple making love in a palanquin / c. 1768-70.

Suzuki Harunobu. Shunga. A couple making love in a palanquin / c. 1768-70.

A shunga (erotic) print by Suzuki Harunobu  [鈴木 春信] (Japanese, c. 1725 – 1770) depicting a woman making love with a man in the palanquin (のりもの/乗り物) while the other woman “ties a sash about her hips below her obi.”  The sheet is not signed; however, it is attributed to Harunobu. A reference image can be found in the Metropolitan Museum (NY) collection, Accession Number JP1635:

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45071

According to the MET “the palanquin … has carried these courtesans to the shore for a spring outing”.

Some time ago, a similar print was sold by Richard Kruml (description: A chuban shunga print showing the occupant of a kago in flagrante with one of the porters, having seized the opportunity of a stop on the journey. Published late 1760s. Rare).

Another copy was sold at Sotheby’s in Paris for €3,360 on November 27, 2002 (Lot 24), with a reproduction of the print’s detail and description on p. 39: Suzuki Harunobu (1725 – 1770) | Shunga: couple dans un palanquin, vers 1768-1770, non-signe, cachet non identifé, cachets Charles Mitchell, Huguette Berès, Format chuban, 20.1 x 28.6 cm | 3000 – 4000 € | Il s’agit probablement de trois voyageurs, l’un d’entre eux debout près du palanquin faisant mine d’ignorer la scène. Bibliographie: Delay p. 87.

Reference: [LIB-3121.2022] Sotheby’s: Collection Huguette Berès – Estampes, dessins et livres illustrés japonais / 2 volumes; vol. 1. — Paris: Sotheby’s, 2002.

SKU: SVJP-0075.2015 Categories: ,

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