Wellcome Collection homepage
All
Stories
Images
Catalogue
Events
56 results
  • Women at their toilet (courtesans in a fashionable estate). Woodcut by Shungyōsai, 1813.
  • English courtesans being sold at auction to British and Asian men in a port controlled by the East India Company. Coloured etching by T. Rowlandson, ca. 1815, after J. Gillray.
  • The procession of Princes Yasodhara, seated in a palanquin and surrounded by soldiers and courtesans, arriving for her marriage to Prince Siddhattha, Bodhisatta. In the procession are minor officials, musician, soldiers, ministers and spectators
  • A courtesan dressing her hair
  • A courtesan carrying a peacock. Watercolour drawing.
  • A courtesan holding a rose. Watercolour drawing.
  • A courtesan reclining on cushions. Watercolour drawing.
  • A seated courtesan playing a sitar. Watercolour drawing.
  • A seated courtesan playing a sitar. Watercolour drawing.
  • A Mughal courtesan (?). Gouache painting by an Indian painter.
  • A man holding a parrot accompanied by a courtesan. Gouache drawing.
  • A courtesan unveiling. Gouache painting by an Indian artist, 1800s.
  • A courtesan playing a sitar. Watercolour by an Indian artist, ca. 1890.
  • A courtesan sitting on a cane stool. Gouache painting by an Indian artist.
  • A courtesan promenades at the cherry blossom festival in the Yoshiwara. Woodcut by Kitagawa, 1790.
  • A courtesan arranging a flower in her hair. Gouache painting by an Indian artist, 1800s.
  • Two lovers, or a man with a courtesan, holding roses, within an oval frame. Watercolour drawing.
  • Two lovers, or a man with a courtesan, holding roses, within an oval frame. Watercolour drawing.
  • A courtesan at her toilette, seated under a tree. Gouache painting by an Indian artist, ca. 1800.
  • Actors Sawamura Tanosuke as a courtesan and Sawamura Tossho as her lover. Colour woodcut by Kunichika, 1868.
  • A sepoy in the service of the East India Company, with a woman (courtesan?) on the right. Gouache, 18--.
  • A courtesan promenading under cherry trees of the Yoshiwara, accompanied by her child attendant. Colour woodcut by Yoshitora, 1859.
  • Two actors as a man and a courtesan under a cherry blossom. Colour woodcut by Kunikazu, early 1860s.
  • A courtesan promenading under cherry trees of the Yoshiwara, accompanied by her child attendant. Colour woodcut by Yoshitora, 1859.
  • A courtesan promenading under cherry trees of the Yoshiwara, accompanied by her child attendant. Colour woodcut by Yoshitora, 1859.
  • A courtesan sees herself reflected in the mirror as a skeleton: two demons look on. Colour woodcut by Yoshitoshi, 1870s.
  • A Mughal courtesan or member of a royal family looking out of a window: three quarter profile. Gouache painting by an Indian painter.
  • A child attendant for a courtesan in a brothel holds a western watch and looks towards the client. Colour woodcut by Kunisada II, 1870.
  • A Mughal courtesan or member of a Mughal royal family looking at a parrot perched on her hand. Gouache painting by an Indian painter.
  • A tayu (elite courtesan) on parade with her two kamuro (child attendants): a male attendant shields them with a parasol. Colour woodcut, ca. 1850 (?).