Skanda/Kartikeya

Madhubani, Bihar, India

1971-1972

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Ichikawa Ebizô V here plays the male role dressed in the grey robes of a Buddhist priest with a long green head-covering. It is common for memorial portraits to have some Buddhist content as a blessing for their afterlife. Arashi Koroku V plays a female role, offering up a large yellow tree peony in a blue-and-white vase—this may be a reference to a wish that Ichikawa Ebizô V attains life in the Buddhist pure land of Amitabha in addition to a reference of a play they performed together. Fans purchased portraits of their favorite actors in a wide variety of roles as well as their memorial portraits. Numerous memorial portraits of Ichikawa Ebizô V survive, as well as more than one portrait brushed by this artist, Utagawa Kunisada. The financial gains of both publishers and artists by selling such fan portraits greatly assisted the fluorescence of Japanese prints of many styles and topics.
Plaque, China, jade
Jar, Cambodia, ceramic, slip
Votive Vessel, China, porcelain, lead glaze