Print of green dragon with talons on black and gray background
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A green dragon with a yellow beard and yellow ridges on its back faces the viewer at a three-quarters angle. Its eyes are large and white with small black pupils. Its grinning mouth is full of sharp teeth. On either side of its head are green feet with sharp white talons. The rest of the dragon’s body fades into the swirling black-and-gray background, creating the sense that it is leaping out at the viewer. There is a fiery orange squiggle cutting across the black background to the left of the dragon.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1916.560
People
Utagawa Toyokuni 歌川豊国, Japanese (1769 - 1825)
Published by Ezakiya Kichibei
Title
Black and Green Dragon
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
late 18th to early 19th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Japan
Period
Edo period, 1615-1868
Culture
Japanese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/210300

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Paper: H. 38 cm x W. 26 cm (14 15/16 x 10 1/4 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: Toyokuni hitsu
  • seal: Printed Toshidama seal
  • seal: Printed publisher's seal of Ezakiya Kichibei

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. Denman W. Ross
Accession Year
1916
Object Number
1916.560
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu