Writing Box
ca. 1850-1900 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This writing box comes from an important groups of lacquerware from the late 19th century decorated with views of famous places. It is a mirror image copy of a page from One Hundred Designs by Yamamoto Shunsho (1610-1682). Three other versions of writing boxes of the same design are known to exist, all of extremely high quality but unsigned.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 6 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Lacquered wood |
| Brief description | Writing box, wood covered in black lacquer with gold filings and gold and silver takamaki-e lacquer and foil with the design of the entrance to the Hall of Ceremonies, Imperial Palace, Kyoto, Japan, about 1850-1900. |
| Physical description | Writing box, wood covered in black lacquer with gold filings and gold and silver takamaki-e lacquer and foil. The outside is decorated with a flowering cherry and willow trees beside the gateway to the Hall of Ceremonies, Imperial Palace, Kyoto, and the inside with orange branches and bamboo fence in gold and silver hiramakie and takamakie lacquer. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | BOX FOR WRITING UTENSILS
Wood covered in black lacquer with gold filings and gold and silver takamaki-e lacquer and foil
The entrance to the Hall of Ceremonies, Imperial Palace, Kyoto
About 1850-1900
W.392-1910
SALTING BEQUEST
An important group of lacquerware from the late 19th century is decorated with views of famous places, of which this writing box is one such example. It is a mirror-image copy of a page from the Shunshō hyakuzu (One hundred designs by Shunshō, 1610-82). Three other versions of writing boxes of the same design are known to exist. They are all of extremely high quality and are unsigned. The writing box now in the MOA Museum of Art, Atami, was formerly in the collection of Shibata Zeshin (1807-91), the leading lacquerer of the 19th century. It was subsequently exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle, 1900. |
| Credit line | Salting Bequest |
| Object history | Bequeathed by Mr. George Salting, accessioned in 1910. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This writing box comes from an important groups of lacquerware from the late 19th century decorated with views of famous places. It is a mirror image copy of a page from One Hundred Designs by Yamamoto Shunsho (1610-1682). Three other versions of writing boxes of the same design are known to exist, all of extremely high quality but unsigned. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.392E-1910 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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