龍田川蒔絵硯箱|Writing Box with Portrait of Fujiwara no Ietaka and His Poem about the Tatsuta River

Unknown

18th century · Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki-e, togidashimaki-e, and red lacquer on silver ground · Asian Art

Alongside a portrait of its author, Fujiwara no Ietaka (1158–1237), the poem on the lid of this writing box is rendered in fine lacquer decoration (hiramaki-e) to imitate calligraphy in ink. The embellishment of the box’s interior, with autumn maple leaves amid the waves of a river, is inspired by the poem, which reads: 竜田川 紅葉をとづる うすごほり わたらば是も なかやたえなむ On Tatsuta River, a layer of red maple leaves is trapped within thin ice, and if we were to go across the brocade would be torn. —Trans. John T. Carpenter

Artist

Unknown

Date

18th century

Medium

Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki-e, togidashimaki-e, and red lacquer on silver ground

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929