Minneapolis Institute of Art
Incense box with peacock design
Japan
- Date
- 16th century
- Medium
- Black lacquer with gold and mother-of-pearl inlay (maki-e)
- Department
- Asian Art
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
The background of this box is known as “pear-skin ground” ( nashiji ), because the loose sprinkling of gold dust over the surface resembles the skin of an Asian pear ( nashi ). The body of the peacock was also created by applying gold dust to the lacquered surface of the box, a technique called maki-e (sprinkled pictures), while the bird’s tail feathers are adorned with tiny pieces of iridescent mother-of-pearl embedded into the surface. The delicacy of this box’s design is characteristic of lacquerware created in Japan in the 1500s.
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