Document Box (Bunko) with Design of Cherry Trees in Bloom in Yoshino
Unknown Artist
ca. 1840
Medium
Lacquer with sprinkled gold and silver and relief lacquer (takamakie) and polished sprinkled gold and silver lacquer decoration (togidashi)
Dimensions
H. 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm); W. 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm); L. 10 3/8 in. (26.4 cm)
Classification
Lacquer
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
29.100.681
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite Document Box (Bunko), crafted around 1840 during Japan's Edo period (16151868), showcases the era's mastery of lacquerware, a craft that flourished amid relative peace and prosperity. Measuring a compact 1⅞ × 7⅛ × 10⅜ inches, this practical yet ornate box was designed to store documents, its lid adorned with blooming cherry trees in Yoshino—a renowned mountain site celebrated in poetry and art for its spectacular spring sakura displays. Cherry blossoms, or sakura, evoke the fleeting beauty of life in Japanese culture, making this motif both decorative and philosophical. The art...