室町時代 楼閣山水蒔絵書箱|Box for Books with Waterfall

Unknown

16th century · Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, cut-out gold and silver foil application and silver inlay on black lacquer ground · Asian Art

Originally this extravagantly decorated box held books, which could be pushed up through a hole at the base. It was later converted into a box for writing implements. The decoration of a pine, cypress, plum, and camellia set in a mountainous landscape with a waterfall and temples fills the entire surface of the box, from the top to the beveled sides, and remains uninterrupted whether the box is open or closed. The decoration may refer to classical poetry, though the scene cannot be definitively identified.

Artist

Unknown

Date

16th century

Medium

Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, cut-out gold and silver foil application and silver inlay on black lacquer ground

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015