Box for Writing Implements

17th century

Ryukyuan, Japanese

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About the Artwork

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Artwork

It is thought that boxes for writing implements, larger boxes for stationery, and tables were travel accessories for the feudal lords of southern Japan who controlled much of the trade between Japan and the Ryūkyū Islands to the south during the Edo period. Ryūkyūan lacquer craftsmen used locally harvested mother-of-pearl, prized for its superior color, to create inlaid works for patrons in the islands, China, and Japan.

The pairing of squirrels with grapes is a visual pun for longevity. It was an exceedingly popular motif throughout East Asia in paintings and the decorative arts from the seventeenth century onward. Here the undulating edge of the writing box is a sensitive complement to the incised inlay intertwined with painted gold embellishment.

Title Box for Writing Implements

Artwork Date 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 Lacquer, wood, mother-of-pearl, gold

Dimensions 2 3/8 × 8 1/2 × 10 1/2 inches (6 × 21.6 × 26.7 cm)

Classification Lacquer

Department Asian Art

Credit Founders Society Purchase with funds from Collins Holding Company, Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Endicott and 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. 81.683.A

Markings

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Provenance

15 February 1981, Okura sale, (Christie's Tokyo, Japan);
1981-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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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.

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Published References

Oriental Lacquer Works. Exh. cat., Tokyo National Museum. Tokyo, 1977, (fig. 361).

Commemorative Catalogue of Oriental Lacquer Arts. Tokyo, 1977, (fig. 199).

Hirokazu, A. Kobijutsu 56 (1979): (fig. 8).

Sales cat., Christie's Auction Catalogue. Tokyo, February 1981, lot 435.

Bulletin of the DIA 59, no. 2/3 (1981): pp. 57-65; p. 63 (ill).

Herbert, John, ed. Christies Review of the Season 1981. London, 1981, p. 389 (ill.).

Mitchell, S.W. "The Asian Collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts." Orientations 13, no. 5 (May 1982): pp. 14-36, (fig. 20).

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

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Ryukyuan, Japanese, Box for Writing Implements, 17th Century, Lacquer, wood, mother-of-pearl, gold. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase with funds from Collins Holding Company, Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Endicott, et al., 81.683.A.