Cherries and Tea

anonymous, c. 1820 - c. 1830

In this surimono it is clear to see that text and image form a single entity. The various components ensure that the composition is beautifully balanced. An undulating movement starts with the tea caddy in the brocade case and flows via the twig with the two cherries to the lines of verse. Each element has its place.

  • Artwork typeprint, surimono
  • Object numberRP-P-1995-300
  • Dimensionsheight 133 mm x width 196 mm
  • Physical characteristicsnishikie, with metallic pigments and tsuyazuri

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Cherries and Tea
    • Tea Caddy in Cloth Wrapper

  • Object type

  • Object number

    RP-P-1995-300

  • Description

    Rechts een stuk stof dat is bedrukt met bloemmotieven, bij elkaar gehouden door een zwart koord, met daarin een theepotje. Ernaast twee kersen. Met één gedicht. Het ontwerp is gedrukt op crêpe papier. De chrysanten en paulownia op het patroon van de stof zijn keizerlijke emblemen.

  • Part of catalogue

  • Catalogue reference

    • Forrer 220
    • Goslings 155

Creation

  • Creation

    • printmaker: anonymous, Japan
    • poet: Sanjûroku Uroko (mentioned on object), Japan

  • Dating

    c. 1820 - c. 1830

  • Search further with

Material and technique

  • Physical description

    nishikie, with metallic pigments and tsuyazuri

  • Dimensions

    height 133 mm x width 196 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 1995

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; purchased from the dealer Bernard Haase, London, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1993;{Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 68, cat. no. 155} by whom donated to the museum, 1995

Documentation

Persistent URL

Questions?

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anonymous

Tea Caddy in Cloth Wrapper

Japan, Japan, c. 1820 - c. 1830

Provenance

…; purchased from the dealer Bernard Haase, London, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1993;1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 68, cat. no. 155 by whom donated to the museum, 1995

Object number: RP-P-1995-300

Credit line: Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse

Entry

A tea caddy, chaire, in an exquisite brocade-cloth wrapper, decorated with stylised chrysanthemums and paulownias. Next to it a spray of cherries.

The chrysanthemums allude to the Imperial chrysanthemum crest, kiku no gomon, the paulownias to the Imperial paulownia crest, kiri no gomon.

Judging from the printing technique, this exquisitely printed design seems to have been made in Osaka. The spray of cherries is printed without a line-block. The design is printed on crêped paper.

One poem by Sanjuroku Uroko.

Issued by the poet
Unsigned

Literature

M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 220

Citation

M. Forrer, 2013, 'anonymous, Tea Caddy in Cloth Wrapper, Japan, c. 1820 - c. 1830', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200382618

(accessed 16 February 2026 03:26:37).

Footnotes

  • 1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 68, cat. no. 155