Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III). Woman holding a scroll, from the series 'The taste of the new type of woman' / Fan print, c. 1835.

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865).

Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga [香朝楼國貞画] in a red double-gourd cartouche.

Date: No censor/date seal.

Publisher: No seal.

Media: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e (団扇絵), color woodblock print, 217 x 283 mm.

Series: The taste of the new type of woman (Shingata bijin konomi) [新形美人好].

A half-length portrait of a young woman in three-quarter view, turned slightly to the right. She is elegantly dressed in a blue kimono adorned with floral motifs, worn over a red under-kimono with a blue collar featuring a lattice pattern. Her elaborately styled hair is adorned with kanzashi hairpins and a comb, indicative of her status, possibly as a courtesan or geisha. The background is filled with intricate textile patterns, including a central pink scroll embellished with golden embroidery of waves and plovers. She holds a rolled scroll featuring a snowflake-like pattern, possibly a stencil used for dyeing fabrics. The blue cartouche on the right reads: 新形美人好 (Shingata bijin konomi) – the series title.