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The image shows a woman standing upright, holding a fan in each hand. She is wearing a traditional Japanese kimono with a checkered pattern and a colorful belt. The woman's hair is styled in an updo. She has a calm and focused expression. There is a bowl on the floor and a small section of a mat underneath her feet. In the background, there is a decorated box with a teapot-like object.
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The image shows a woman standing upright, holding a fan in each hand. She is wearing a traditional Japanese kimono with a checkered pattern and a colorful belt. The woman's hair is styled in an updo. She has a calm and focused expression. There is a bowl on the floor and a small section of a mat underneath her feet. In the background, there is a decorated box with a teapot-like object.

National Gallery of Art · Photograph

At Her Toilet

Felice Beato

Date
1868
Medium
albumen silver print with applied color
Dimensions
image (oval): 24 × 17 cm (9 7/16 × 6 11/16 in.) sheet: 29 × 22.5 cm (11 7/16 × 8 7/8 in.) mount: 49.5 × 35 cm (19 1/2 × 13 3/4 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Accession number
2012.137.80
Credit line
Gift of Michael and Jane Wilson
Time span
1851 to 1875
Department
CPH
Original NGA record Wikidata

Portfolio and series

Volume
Views of Japan

Subjects and terms

  • British
  • albumen silver print
  • Mirror
  • full figure
  • portrait
  • Japan
Provenance

Michael and Jane Wilson, Wilson Centre for Photography, London, acquired 1991; gift to NGA, 2012.

Inscription

by unknown hand, upper center in graphite: 10; top right in graphite: 19B 09; lower right in graphite: 91.4415; lower right in graphite: A; on verso, by unknown hand, center left in graphite: 11; center in typeset print on paper label: PUTTING ON THE OBI, OR GIRDLE. / This peculiar belt or girdle is universally worn by all classes of women in Japan with the exception of the / female members of Daimio's families; and the present style is said to have been in fashion for about two hundred / years. Little variation is ever made in the Obi, except perhaps the breadth, which is rather greater now / than was formerly worn. Nothing can be inferred respecting the position in society, from the manner of wearing it, / although some have it tied in a large loose knot, and others with the cords hanging down the back, quite as fancy / may suggest. / A woman who has become a widow and is determined so to remain for the rest of her life, ties her Obi in / front. After death, (the female being dressed in her best apparel, exactly as in life), the Obi is tied, not in a bow, / but strongly fastened in two knots, to indicate that it is never to be loosened. [This label describes the next photograph in the album: 2012.137.85 . There is no matching descriptive label for this photograph in the collection.]

NGA object ID 155439. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.