Getting started with the collection:
A Group of Monkeys
Ryûsai Shinsen (mentioned on object), 1800
Op een rood plankje, dat in een doosje past, zitten vier figuurtjes van aapjes. Surimono zonder gedichten.
- Artwork typeprint, surimono
- Object numberRP-P-1991-610
- Dimensionsheight 100 mm x width 183 mm
- Physical characteristicsnishikie, with blindprinting
Identification
Title(s)
A Group of Monkeys
Object type
Object number
RP-P-1991-610
Description
Op een rood plankje, dat in een doosje past, zitten vier figuurtjes van aapjes. Surimono zonder gedichten.
Part of catalogue
Catalogue reference
- Goslings 105
- Forrer 170
Creation
Creation
print maker: Ryûsai Shinsen (mentioned on object), Japan
Dating
1800
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Material and technique
Physical description
nishikie, with blindprinting
Dimensions
height 100 mm x width 183 mm
Explanatory note
Een surimono is een luxe uitgevoerde prent waarop beeld met één of meerdere gedichten gecombineerd is. Bij het drukken van een surimono werd vaak gebruik gemaakt van dikker papier, blinddruk en metaal pigmenten, zoals koper- en zilverpoeder. De prenten werden vaak in opdracht van dichters gemaakt en als exclusief geschenk aan vrienden en relaties gegeven.
This work is about
Subject
Acquisition and rights
Credit line
Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse
Acquisition
gift 1991
Copyright
Provenance
…; purchased from the dealer Hotei Japanese Prints, Leiden, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1986;{Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 49, cat. no. 105} by whom donated to the museum, 1991
Documentation
Persistent URL
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Ryûsai Shinsen
A Group of Monkeys
Japan, 1800
Provenance
…; purchased from the dealer Hotei Japanese Prints, Leiden, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1986;1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 49, cat. no. 105 by whom donated to the museum, 1991
Object number: RP-P-1991-610
Credit line: Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse
Context
Although his name suggests that Shinsen was a pupil of Shinsai, Nagata cites a surimono where he signs ‘drawn by Shinsen, pupil of Hokusai’ (see ‘Katsushikaha no eshitachi’, in: Nagata 1994, 274).
The artist
Biography
Ryusai Shinsen was a follower of Hokusai, despite his name, which suggests indebtedness to Ryuryukyo Shinsai.
Entry
Two pairs of small monkey figurines on a wooden stand placed on the box they are kept in, its lid behind it.
It is difficult to establish whether the monkey figurines are toys, souvenirs or a local speciality. Here, of course, they were selected primarily as a zodiacal animal.
No poems.
Issued anonymously
Signature reading: Ryusai Shinsen ga
Literature
M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 170
Citation
M. Forrer, 2013, 'Ryûsai Shinsen, A Group of Monkeys, Japan, 1800', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200467492
(accessed 10 December 2025 13:50:02).Footnotes
- 1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 49, cat. no. 105