106 These two seated figures are known in Japanese as bijin, meaning beautiful women. They represent high-class courtesans of the kind who lived and worked in the pleasure districts of Edo (present-day Tokyo) and Kyoto during the early Edo period, which began in 1603. With their astonishing looks these courtesans took the lead in fashion trends. The garments on these porcelain figures represent actual clothing worn in Japan at the time. Books from the period with designs for kimonos (hiinagata-bon) show which styles were popular at which times, making it possible to trace some of the patterns on the porcelain back to these contemporary sources. The figures shown here are dressed in an identical style, with a pattern of chrysanthemum flowers among clouds on their outer kimono and of cherry blossom on a red ground on their inner garment. TWO JAPANESE BEAUTIES ELINE VAN DEN BERG Fig. 1 Seated bijin figures Japan, Arita, Edo period, 1670/1690 Porcelain, overglaze enamel colours LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna Inv. nos. PO1842.1/2
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