A Japanese colour woodblockprint by Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806), late 19th Century.

From the Collection of Axel Sjöberg (1866-1950). Thence by descent. Axel Sjöberg is a well-known Swedish painter, who is famous for his representations of the archipelago around Stockholm. He grew up at Skeppsholmen in Stockholm. In 1880 he was employed by Generalstabens litografiska anstalt where he also came to work with prints and photography. He illustrated several books. In 1909 there was a large exhibition with him at Liljevalchs konsthall but the real breakthrough for him was from his exhibitions in Copenhagen 1917 and at Liljevalchs in 1918

"Renowned Beauties from the Six Best Houses") is a series of ukiyo-e prints designed by the Japanese artist Utamaro and published in c. 1795–96. The subjects were well-known courtesans, geisha, and others associated with the Yoshiwara pleasure districts of Edo (modern Tokyo).

Due to legal restrictions, the names of the women appear do not appear in the prints. To get around this, hanji-e picture-puzzles appear in the rebus in the top corner of each print; solving them reveals the names.