Dish

Object Type
This dish is typical of objects manufactured for export to the West at the end of the 19th century. It has no real function and was made for purely decorative purposes. The combination of tortoiseshell and lacquer decorated with peacocks embodied the exoticism that the West associated with Japan.

Places
Since the early 17th century trade with Europe had only been permitted through the Dutch base on the island of Deshima in Nagasaki harbour. Apart from very high-quality items that were made to order in Kyoto, Nagasaki was the source of most Japanese export lacquerware. With the opening up of Japan in the 1850s, Nagasaki was nominated as one of three official ports through which trade with the West could be conducted. In the late 19th century it also became a major centre for the production of gold lacquer applied to an ivory or tortoiseshell ground.

Historical Associations
This dish was one of a group of objects displayed by the Japanese at the Paris Exhibition of 1867. The Japanese exhibits were enormously popular. This and subsequent international exhibitions were largely responsible for introducing Japanese art to the Western public. The V&A bought 20 items of Japanese lacquerwork from the Paris Exhibition.