//Horizontal chuban
  • 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.
  • Artist (attributed, no signature): Suzuki Harunobu [鈴木 春信] (Japanese, c. 1725 – 1770). The title is taken from [LIB-1478.2013] Gian Carlo Calza, Stefania Piotti. Poem of the pillow and other stories. — Phaidon Press, 2010; pp. 148-9. Alternative title: Man sucking woman's breast and a cat sitting under a bonsai tree. The open book beside the couple reads 子春 (Koharu). Woodblock print from the series Mirror Picture of Japan (Wakoku kagami);  Size: Horizontal chuban; 21 x 26 cm.