Lidded Box
1537 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Circular, flat topped box with slightly raised vertical foot rim, decorated with figurative scanes inlaid in shell on a black lacquer ground.
The material of the core is not known, but it appears to carry a fabric covering, with a layer of grey material between the fabric and the black lacquer. The interior of both halves is covered in plain red lacquer. The upper half fits over a raised flange on the lower. A line of twisted silver wire acts as strenghtening at the outer edge of the foot, and round the rim of both halves. A double line of twistes silver wire surrounds the central panel on the top.
The outside of the foot is decorated with small circular pieces of shell. The lower half is decorated with four lobed cartouches containing birds and flowers in shell with incised details. These are set against a ground of hexagonal diaper, each hexagon containing a small pointed star, usually of five small pieces.
On the sides of the upper half are four lobed cartouches containing figures in landscapes, with incised detail. These are set against diaper grounds: two of these grounds are composed of hexagons formed from intersecting circles, with central five-pointed stars, the other two are intersecting circle diapers (qian wen) with central four-pointed stars. The cartouches on both halves do not align exactly when the box is closed.
The central panel on the top shows a man riding a horse from left to right, surrounded by eight attendants who carry luggage, a folding stool, a ceremonial umbrella and other signs of rank. Four of them wear the tall hats of official yamen runners. The front attendant carries an object with the incised character shu (document). These insignia identify the horseman as an official. In the foreground are balaustrade and rocks. In the left background are trees and rocks, In the right background are two pavillions, the front one with two men and the rear one with two women.
The figures and tree trunks are composed of fairly large pieces of shell with incised details, while the rocks in the foreground are made up from an outline of thin strips, within which are two lines of irregular mother-of-pearl chips. The leaves are composed of a single piece of shell.
A column on the rear pavillion carries five incised characters.
The material of the core is not known, but it appears to carry a fabric covering, with a layer of grey material between the fabric and the black lacquer. The interior of both halves is covered in plain red lacquer. The upper half fits over a raised flange on the lower. A line of twisted silver wire acts as strenghtening at the outer edge of the foot, and round the rim of both halves. A double line of twistes silver wire surrounds the central panel on the top.
The outside of the foot is decorated with small circular pieces of shell. The lower half is decorated with four lobed cartouches containing birds and flowers in shell with incised details. These are set against a ground of hexagonal diaper, each hexagon containing a small pointed star, usually of five small pieces.
On the sides of the upper half are four lobed cartouches containing figures in landscapes, with incised detail. These are set against diaper grounds: two of these grounds are composed of hexagons formed from intersecting circles, with central five-pointed stars, the other two are intersecting circle diapers (qian wen) with central four-pointed stars. The cartouches on both halves do not align exactly when the box is closed.
The central panel on the top shows a man riding a horse from left to right, surrounded by eight attendants who carry luggage, a folding stool, a ceremonial umbrella and other signs of rank. Four of them wear the tall hats of official yamen runners. The front attendant carries an object with the incised character shu (document). These insignia identify the horseman as an official. In the foreground are balaustrade and rocks. In the left background are trees and rocks, In the right background are two pavillions, the front one with two men and the rear one with two women.
The figures and tree trunks are composed of fairly large pieces of shell with incised details, while the rocks in the foreground are made up from an outline of thin strips, within which are two lines of irregular mother-of-pearl chips. The leaves are composed of a single piece of shell.
A column on the rear pavillion carries five incised characters.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Lacquered wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl shell |
| Brief description | Box, lacquered wood with inlaid shell, China, Ming dynasty, dated 1537 |
| Physical description | Circular, flat topped box with slightly raised vertical foot rim, decorated with figurative scanes inlaid in shell on a black lacquer ground. The material of the core is not known, but it appears to carry a fabric covering, with a layer of grey material between the fabric and the black lacquer. The interior of both halves is covered in plain red lacquer. The upper half fits over a raised flange on the lower. A line of twisted silver wire acts as strenghtening at the outer edge of the foot, and round the rim of both halves. A double line of twistes silver wire surrounds the central panel on the top. The outside of the foot is decorated with small circular pieces of shell. The lower half is decorated with four lobed cartouches containing birds and flowers in shell with incised details. These are set against a ground of hexagonal diaper, each hexagon containing a small pointed star, usually of five small pieces. On the sides of the upper half are four lobed cartouches containing figures in landscapes, with incised detail. These are set against diaper grounds: two of these grounds are composed of hexagons formed from intersecting circles, with central five-pointed stars, the other two are intersecting circle diapers (qian wen) with central four-pointed stars. The cartouches on both halves do not align exactly when the box is closed. The central panel on the top shows a man riding a horse from left to right, surrounded by eight attendants who carry luggage, a folding stool, a ceremonial umbrella and other signs of rank. Four of them wear the tall hats of official yamen runners. The front attendant carries an object with the incised character shu (document). These insignia identify the horseman as an official. In the foreground are balaustrade and rocks. In the left background are trees and rocks, In the right background are two pavillions, the front one with two men and the rear one with two women. The figures and tree trunks are composed of fairly large pieces of shell with incised details, while the rocks in the foreground are made up from an outline of thin strips, within which are two lines of irregular mother-of-pearl chips. The leaves are composed of a single piece of shell. A column on the rear pavillion carries five incised characters. |
| Dimensions |
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| Styles | |
| Marks and inscriptions | 嘉靖丁酉年 (The mark corresponds to the year 1537.)
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| Credit line | Given by the Sir Harry Garner Memorial Fund |
| Object history | The box was formerly in the Kanazawa and Figgess collections, and previously on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum as Garner Loan 28. It was purchased, together with FE.21-1982, with the aid of £2270 from the Sir Harry Garner Memorial Fund. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | FE.20-1982 |
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| Record created | June 25, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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