Minneapolis Institute of Art

Writing box with pines, plum, chrysanthemums, and paulownia

Japan

Date

16th century

Medium

Black lacquer with gold maki-e, pearskin ground (nashiji), and pictorial pearskin ground (e-nashiji)

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Kodaiji style lacquer Writing boxes ( suzuribako ) were used to hold an assortment of writing utensils, including an inkstone, a water dropper, brushes, and sticks of ink. On each side of the bold zigzag is a combination of auspicious floral motifs in maki-e , or “sprinkled picture, ” a technique in which artists apply metallic flakes or powder on the lacquer surface before it fully dries. On the upper left are seen pine trees and plum blossoms on a black-lacquer background, and on the lower right chrysanthemums and paulownia decorate a red background created with the nashiji (pear-skin) technique. The zigzag is a unique design feature of lacquer objects created in the so-called Kōdaiji style, which developed in the late 1500s and was associated with the temple Kōdaiji in Kyoto. Japan, Asia

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