Utagawa Kunisada, Abalone Divers off the Coast of Ise, from an Untitled Landscape Series
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Anonymous Gift, 1916.944 · The Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access (CC0)View original →
Utagawa Kunisada

Abalone Divers off the Coast of Ise, from an Untitled Landscape Series

early 1830s

Current Collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Medium
color woodblock print
Dimensions
27.4 × 40 cm
Status
In Museum Collection
Collect24 Art ID
C24-195972

Prolific printmaker Utagawa Kunisada produced this seascape of abalone fishing as part of a series of untitled landscape prints in the early Tenpō era (1830–44). In the coastal city of Ise on Japan’s main island of Honshu, female divers called ama traditionally did the physically demanding job of harvesting shellfish such as abalone. These marine snails are valuable for their edible flesh, and their iridescent inner shell is a source of mother-of-pearl. This print depicts three stages of the harvest: One diver plunges into the water, another holds her breath while prying an abalone off the ro…

Provenance

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Anonymous Gift, 1916.944

Registry history

  • early 1830s — Recorded in the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art — prints

Registered on Collect24

The identity of the collector is never published. Purchase information, documents and the exact location of the artwork remain private.

Ownership not yet verified on Collect24

This artwork is documented in the Global Art Registry, but no Collect24 account is linked to it as the owner. Claiming keeps this record and its Collect24 Art ID — nothing is created a second time.

Do you own or represent this artwork? Claim this artwork →

Auction history

Public sale records matched to this work. Ownership is never disclosed.

Loading sale records…