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

    • Forrer 170
    • Goslings 105

Creation

  • Creation

    printmaker: Ryûsai Shinsen (mentioned on object), Japan

  • Dating

    1800

  • Search further with

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

    Public domain

  • 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

Questions?

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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 7 augustus 2026 17:03:48 UTC+0).

Footnotes

  • 1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 49, cat. no. 105