永田友治作 紫陽花蝶蒔絵料紙箱|Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Hydrangeas and Butterflies
early 18th century
Medium
Lacquered wood with gold takamaki-e and hiramaki-e, and mother-of-pearl and pewter inlay
Dimensions
H. 6 in. (15.2 cm); W. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm); L. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm)
Classification
Lacquer
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
Accession Number
36.100.147a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Hydrangeas Butterflies* by Nagata Yūji to the early 18 century, during Japan's Edo period (1615–1868), a time of peace and artistic refinement. Crafted as a practical storage container for papers and scrolls, its modest dimensions—about 6 inches high, 8¼ inches wide, and 10¾ inches long—belie its luxurious design, transforming an everyday object into a masterpiece of Japanese lacquerwareNagata employs sophisticated maki-e techniques: *takamaki-e* for raised, gold-powdered motifs that create a tactile, three-dimensional glow, and *hiramaki-e* for f...