Box
ca.1650 - 1700 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The water design on this box looks deceptively simple but it would have required the utmost skills to make. The undulating lines had to be drawn in a continuous sweep and without touching each other right around the surface of the box. Any hesitstaion or break in the line would have negatively affected the appearance of the swirling water, which almost seems to be moving.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Wood covered in black lacquer with gold <i>hiramaki-e</i> (metal powder sprinkled on to a lacquer design before it has hardened so that it is in low relief) and silvered metal fitting |
| Brief description | Box for scrolls, wood covered in black and gold lacquer with an allover design of flowing water, Japan, ca.1650-1700 |
| Physical description | Box for scrolls (jikubako), of rectangular form and with a lid attached by a silvered metal fitting at one side, wood covered in black lacquer, the exterior with a continuous design of flowing water on the top, sides and bottom in gold hiramaki-e (metal powder sprinkled on to a lacquer design before it has hardened so that it is in low relief); the interior is of plain black lacquer. |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Purchased from a source not recorded in the Asia Department registers, accessioned in 1901. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | The water design on this box looks deceptively simple but it would have required the utmost skills to make. The undulating lines had to be drawn in a continuous sweep and without touching each other right around the surface of the box. Any hesitstaion or break in the line would have negatively affected the appearance of the swirling water, which almost seems to be moving. |
| Bibliographic reference | Greenhalgh, Paul (Ed.), Art Nouveau: 1890-1914 . London: V&A Publications, 2000
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 701-1901 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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