Lacquer box, suzuri-bako (box for writing utensils) and tray and ink stone board. Box, lacquer with silvery coloured metal rims. Rectangular box with canted corners and an overhanging lid (A) with bevelled edges and silvery coloured metal rim mounts. The roiro (black lacquer polished to a deep gloss) ground of the lid and sides of the lower section is decorated in hiramakie (low-relief sprinkled design) with hydrangea; the leaves and some of the flowers are fundame (matt gold) and the other flower heads are silver kanagai (decoration, originally floral, of inlaid shell generally in combination with gold or silver leaves and pewter. In this instance shell is underlaid with silver foil) and decorated with red lacquer details. The mikayeshi (inside of the lid) is similarly decorated in gold hiramakie and silver kanagai with red lacquer details with a flowering camellia branch on a nashiji (shimmering spangles) ground. The brush tray (B) has two canted corners and silvery coloured metal rims, and is similarly decorated in hiramakie with gold, red and silver chrysanthemums on a nashiji ground. The ink stone board (C) has two canted corners and is similarly decorated in gold hiramakie and silver kanagai with red lacquer details with chrysanthemums on a nashiji ground. The ink stone (D) has fundame rims and the oval mizuire (water dropper) (E) is of finely tooled copper alloy (or maybe pure copper with an applied mottled finish). The inside is nashiji. The roiro ground of the base is decorated in the centre in gold with an archaic Chinese script which is undeciphered.
Height: 4.3 cm
Length: 26 cm
Width: 23.6 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1947) by Raphael, Oscar C.
Edo Period (1615-1868)
18th Century
Circa
1700
-
1800
Rims
composed of
metal
Decoration
composed of
shell (animal material)
silver
Water Dropper
composed of
copper alloy
Lid Decoration
Lacquering : Writing box, lacquer, with silvery coloured metal rims, lid with bevelled edges, roiro ground (black lacquer polished to a deep gloss) decorated in hiramakie (low-relief sprinkled design) and kanagai (decoration, of inlaid shell in combination, in this instance, with silver and red lacquer), and nashiji (shimmering spangles)
Inscription present: rectangular piece of paper
Accession number: O.4 & A-E-1947
Primary reference Number: 24323
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Box" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/24323 Accessed: 2024-12-22 18:46:07
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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/24323
|title=Box
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-22 18:46:07|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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