Writing Box with Design of Wild Pink, Butterbar, and Bird
late 19th century
Medium
Colored lacquer, gold maki-e, and inlaid pewter
Dimensions
H. 2 3/8 in. (6 cm); W. 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm); L. 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Classification
Lacquer
Culture
Japan
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. George A. Crocker (Elizabeth Masten), 1937
Accession Number
38.25.107a–e
Tags
About this artwork
This writing box (suzuribako) attributed to the style of Ogawa Haritsu (Ritsuō, 1663-1747) exemplifies Japanese lacquer art at its most inventive and sophisticated. Dating to the late 19th century, it demonstrates the enduring influence of Ritsuō's revolutionary techniques and aesthetic sensibility long after his death. Ritsuō was a man of multiple arts—painting, pottery, haiku poetry, and lacquer—whose unconventional approach transformed traditional Japanese craft. His distinctive innovation in...