Minneapolis Institute of Art

Small Serving Tray with Pink Flower Design

Attributed to Yamamoto Shunshō VI

Date

late 18th century

Medium

Lacquer

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Originally from a set of ten, the five trays on display here show a variety of plant motifs associated with the seasons, and executed in hiramaki-e (low sprinkled picture) with gold and pigmented powders. The bottom of one of the trays bears the seal “Shunshō, ” for the family of lacquer artisans. The Shunshō school was established by Yamamoto Shunshō (1610–1682) and continued on until the end of the 19th century. Shunshō I was well known for his mastery of the togidashi-e (polished out picture) technique, which is used on these pieces. However, the naturalism of the plant designs indicates that this is a later piece by either Shunshō V (Jirobei, b. 1734) or VI (Masanori, d. 1803). Japan, Asia

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