Chest thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Chest

ca. 1890-1900 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A karabitsu chest and lid, raised on six legs with gilt copper mounts and a pair of chrysanthemum-headed rings on either main side of the body. The chest is decorated with an all-over design of phoenix roundels inlaid with cut and shaped pieces of mother-of-pearl on a brown/black lacquer ground. The roundels on the legs are composed of circular pieces of mother-of-pearl, over which lacquer has been applied leaving the form of a phoenix reserved in shell. The interior is of plain brown lacquer.


Object details

Category
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Lid
  • Box
Materials and techniques
Lacquered wood with inlaid mother-of-pearl
Brief description
Karabitsu chest, phoenix roundels inlaid in mother-of-pearl on a brown lacquer ground, Japan, circa 1890-1900.
Physical description
A karabitsu chest and lid, raised on six legs with gilt copper mounts and a pair of chrysanthemum-headed rings on either main side of the body. The chest is decorated with an all-over design of phoenix roundels inlaid with cut and shaped pieces of mother-of-pearl on a brown/black lacquer ground. The roundels on the legs are composed of circular pieces of mother-of-pearl, over which lacquer has been applied leaving the form of a phoenix reserved in shell. The interior is of plain brown lacquer.
Dimensions
  • Height: 14cm
  • Length: 21.5cm
  • Width: 16.2cm
Style
Gallery label
CHEST Wood covered in brown lacquer inlaid with shell and with gilt copper fittings Phoenix roundels About 1890-1900 FE.547-1992 This chest is an almost exact copy of a late 11th to early 12th century chest in the Tokyo National Museum. By studying the methods of manufacture, techniques and styles of decoration of past masterpieces and reproducing them accurately, craftsmen were able to rediscover and revive techniques of the past. Such reproductions were made at the Nara Hakurankaisha (Nara Exhibition Company), established in 1874, and its offshoot, the Onkosha (Onko Company). By 1891 a lowering of standards was evident, and this chest undoubtedly belongs to this later period.
Subject depicted
Collection
Accession number
FE.547:1-1992

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Record createdMay 15, 2009
Record URL
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