Woman Holding a Tray - Bon Moteru Onna
- Date:
- 1920
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Goyo completed only 14 woodblock print designs before his death in 1921, making every genuine impression extraordinarily rare. His bijin-ga are among the most refined of the entire shin-hanga movement. "Woman at the Bath" achieved $40,075 at Bonhams New York in 2020; Sotheby's estimates of $15,000–$25,000 are typical for top examples.
A woman holding a tray — "bon moteru onna" — one of Goyo's 1920 series of waitress subjects, the figure defined by her professional act of carrying a lacquered serving tray. The Japanese title's directness ("woman holding a tray") reflects Goyo's classificatory approach to his subjects: he observed and recorded specific acts and the specific women performing them, resisting the anonymous idealization that conventional bijin-ga often preferred. The serving woman's poised, professional bearing gives the image a particular social specificity.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Woman Holding a Tray - Bon Moteru Onna was created by Hashiguchi Goyo (橋口五葉) in 1920.
Woman Holding a Tray - Bon Moteru Onna was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1920).
Woman Holding a Tray - Bon Moteru Onna depicts bijin-ga.
