浪花の夢蒔絵硯箱|Writing Box (Suzuribako) with “Dream in Naniwa” Design

Unknown

18th century · Lacquered wood with gold, silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and silver inlay · Asian Art

Writing boxes hold an inkstone (suzuri), a water dropper, and writing brushes. As with this example, they are often decorated with images featuring literary references. This box is embellished with a design referring to Naniwa (present-day Osaka), one of the famous scenic spots of Japan. The poem depicted on its exterior and inscribed on the lids’s interior is from New Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern (Shin kokin wakashū, ca. 1206). Tsu no kuni no Naniwa no haru wa yume nare ya Ashi no kareha ni kaze wataru nari Was spring at Naniwa in Tsu Province a dream? Wind blows over the withered reeds’ leaves. —Trans. Haruo Shirane

Artist

Unknown

Date

18th century

Medium

Lacquered wood with gold, silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and silver inlay

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015