Box with Design of Phoenixes and Lotus Blossoms

early 17th century

Ryukyuan, Japanese

Not On View

Image Only Image + Details All Images High Resolution TIFF Metadata

About the Artwork

Please note: This section is empty
Markings

Please note: This section is empty

This section contains information about signatures, inscriptions and/or markings an object may have.
Provenance

Please note: This section is empty

Provenance is a record of an object's ownership. We are continually researching and updating this information to show a more accurate record and to ensure that this object was ethically and legally obtained.

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Provenance page
Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Suggest Feedback
Published References

Please note: This section is empty

We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Suggest Feedback
Catalogue Raisonné

Please note: This section is empty

A catalogue raisonné is an annotated listing of artworks created by an artist across different media.
Credit Line for Reproduction

Please note: This section is empty

The credit line includes information about the object, such as the artist, title, date, and medium. Also listed is its ownership, the manner in which it was acquired, and its accession number. This information must be cited alongside the object whenever it is shown or reproduced.
Audio Transcript

Please note: This section is empty

About the Artwork

The close ties between the Ryūkyū kingdom and the Ming Dynasty of China are clearly reflected in the motifs of this exquisite mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer box. A single phoenix symbolized the empress, good government, and happiness; when used in a pair, as on this box, phoenixes symbolized faithful love.
The marks on the interior—a fan-shaped symbol and the Chinese character “tian” (heaven) in an archaic script—may identify these pieces as belonging to the seventeenth-century Ryūkyūan king and queen.
Fabric ties were attached to small rings on either side of the bottom section to secure the box and its contents. This box may have been a gift from the Ryūkyūan monarchy to a Japanese lord or lady, as seventeenth-century Japanese nobility particularly fancied such Chinese-styled objects.

Title Box with Design of Phoenixes and Lotus Blossoms

Artwork Date early 17th century

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Japanese

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Ryukyuan

Medium Lacquered wood with mother-of-pearl inlay and metal

Dimensions 3 1/4 × 17 1/2 × 5 1/8 inches (8.3 × 44.5 × 13 cm)

Classification Lacquer

Department Asian Art

Credit Founders Society Purchase with funds from anonymous donor

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 1983.5

Markings

Marks Interior cover: Chinese character "tian" (heaven) mark in seal script, fan-shaped mark. Ryukyu imperial markings.

Provenance

(Heisando and Co., Ltd.);
1983-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

Suggest Feedback

Published References

Tokugawa, Yoshinobu, Lacquer of the Ryukyus, 1977, no 113

Shikkoshi 1, (May 1978): p. 122, no 45 (ill.).

Tokugawa, Yoshinobu, "Lacquer wares with "(tian)", Fan and Weight Shaped Marks - a study into the possibility of the use of marks by the Ryukyu Monarchy," Shikkoshi 2, (Dec 1979): no 53.

Exhibition of Far Eastern Lacquers (Commemorative Edition). Exh. cat., Tokyo National Museum, p 163, no 191.

Mitchell, S., "A portfolio of East Asian lacquers," Apollo 124, no 298, (December 1986): p 78, (ill).

Reference to the Detroit Box is made in Tokugawa, Yoshinobu, "Lacquer Wares with Seal Marks of "(tian)", Fan and Hand drum shapes - objects newly found and their significance in the Ryukyu Monarchy," Shikkoshi 17 (Nov 1994): p. x.

Kindly share your feedback or any additional information, as this record is still a work in progress and may need further refinement.

Suggest Feedback

Catalogue Raisoneé

Please note: This section is empty

Credit Line for Reproduction

Ryukyuan, Japanese, Box with Design of Phoenixes and Lotus Blossoms, early 17th century, Lacquered wood with mother-of-pearl inlay and metal. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase with funds from anonymous donor, 1983.5.