Covered box
Artist
Yutokusai Hogyoku
(Japanese, active mid 1800s)
Place of OriginJapan
Date1800-1868
PeriodEdo period (1615-1868)
CultureJapanese
MaterialsLacquer, gold, and silver on wood
DimensionsH. 3 1/4 in x W. 6 1/4 in x D. 6 in, H. 8.3 cm x W. 15.9 cm x D. 15.2 cm
Credit LineThe Avery Brundage Collection
Object numberB60M7+.a-.b
DepartmentJapanese Art
ClassificationsDecorative Arts
On View
Not on viewMarkingsYutokusai Hogyoku
More InformationThis box with lobed corners is decorated with a naturalistic ivy design that sprawls over both its exterior and interior. Sprinkled gold and silver flakes on wet lacquer (makie) create a pattern against the black lacquer background. In Japanese lacquerware, an artisan who makes the wooden core and a lacquer artist collaborate to make a work. This exquisite box is an example. The work of an anonymous craftsman whose talent is literally hidden under the layers of lacquer, gold, and silver, this wooden core is so thin that the finished thickness of the box is less than one-eighth of an inch.
1700-1800
1615-1800
approx. 1800-1900
1800-1900
approx. 1675-1725
1700-1800
206 BCE-9 CE
1522 - 1566
1736 - 1795