Saddle Tree
ca. 1600-1620 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This saddle is made up of a bowed pommel and cantle of wood, connected by shaped wooden bars.
The pommel and cantle are decorated with stylised lotus scrolls, which are made up of mother-of-pearl inlays. On the outer surface of both the pommel and the cantle is depicted a family badge known as a mon. The mon, which is composed of three lozenges, was the principal one adopted by the Ichi-hashi nobles, known as Kuge, and feudal lords or daimyo. The connecting wooden bars are decorated with small flakes of mother-of-pearl sunk into the black lacquer.
The shell-inlaid floral design on this saddle is also seen on Korean lacquer of the same date. Although the body of the saddle is certainly Japanese, the decoration may have been done by one of the many Korean craftsmen who were in Japan after the Japanese invasions of Korea in the 1590s.
It dates from about 1600-1620
The pommel and cantle are decorated with stylised lotus scrolls, which are made up of mother-of-pearl inlays. On the outer surface of both the pommel and the cantle is depicted a family badge known as a mon. The mon, which is composed of three lozenges, was the principal one adopted by the Ichi-hashi nobles, known as Kuge, and feudal lords or daimyo. The connecting wooden bars are decorated with small flakes of mother-of-pearl sunk into the black lacquer.
The shell-inlaid floral design on this saddle is also seen on Korean lacquer of the same date. Although the body of the saddle is certainly Japanese, the decoration may have been done by one of the many Korean craftsmen who were in Japan after the Japanese invasions of Korea in the 1590s.
It dates from about 1600-1620
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Wood covered in black lacquer and inlaid with shell |
| Brief description | Saddle, wood covered in black lacquer and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, with stylised lotus scrolls and a three-lozenged mon (family crest) at either end, Japan, ca. 1600-1620 |
| Physical description | Saddle of bowed pommel and cantle, wood connected by shaped wooden bars, the pommel and cantle covered with black lacquer and inlaid with shell in stylised lotus scrolls, with black lacquered three-lozenge mon (family crest) on each outer side of the pommel and cantle; the connecting wooden bars decorated with small flakes of shell inlaid into black lacquer with an unidentifiable seal on the underside. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production | Although the body of the saddle is certainly Japanese, the shell-inlaid floral decoration may have been carried out by one of the many Korean craftsmen who were in Japan after the Japanese invasions of Korea in the 1590s, as the design is also seen on Korean lacquers of the same date. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This saddle is made up of a bowed pommel and cantle of wood, connected by shaped wooden bars. The pommel and cantle are decorated with stylised lotus scrolls, which are made up of mother-of-pearl inlays. On the outer surface of both the pommel and the cantle is depicted a family badge known as a mon. The mon, which is composed of three lozenges, was the principal one adopted by the Ichi-hashi nobles, known as Kuge, and feudal lords or daimyo. The connecting wooden bars are decorated with small flakes of mother-of-pearl sunk into the black lacquer. The shell-inlaid floral design on this saddle is also seen on Korean lacquer of the same date. Although the body of the saddle is certainly Japanese, the decoration may have been done by one of the many Korean craftsmen who were in Japan after the Japanese invasions of Korea in the 1590s. It dates from about 1600-1620 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | FE.199-1974 |
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| Record created | March 16, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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