Chinese Lacquerware
-
Writing Box with a Bird and Flowers, Ming dynasty, 16th century (Important Cultural Property)
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 9
July 5, 2022 (Tue) - October 2, 2022 (Sun)Lacquer is the sap of the lacquer tree, which grows in East and Southeast Asia. Naturally sticky, it can be brushed onto different materials, and hardens into a durable coating that is waterproof and resistant to acids, alkalis, and heat.
The history of lacquerware in China dates back to the Neolithic period. Over the past 7,000 years, a number of ornate decorative techniques have grown out of Chinese innovations, including: built-up layers of lacquer that are then carved, mother-of-pearl inlay, incised lines of gold, and a special type of decorative inlay made up of different colors of lacquer and outlined in incised lines.
| Designation | Name | Creation/ Excavation/ Provenance |
Period | Acquisition/ Ownership/ Accession Number |
CMT | ||
| Highlight | Boxes | China | Western Han dynasty, 2nd–1st century BC | TJ-5666 | |||
| Highlight | Tray with Pavilions and Figures | China | Southern Song dynasty, 12th–13th century | TH-400 | |||
| Highlight | Tray with Pommel Scrolls, Wood with carved marbled lacquer | China | Southern Song dynasty, 12th–13th century | TH-372 | |||
| Highlight | Box with a Pine, Bamboo, and Plum Tree, Lacquer coating inlaid with lacquer | China | Ming dynasty, Xuande era (1426–35) | TH-387 | |||
| Box Shaped Like Two Diamonds, with Scenes of Children | China | Ming dynasty, Jiajing era (1522–66) | TH-510 | ||||
| Highlight | Tray with Dragons | China | Ming dynasty, 1585 | Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige, TH-347 | |||
| Highlight | Important Cultural Property | Writing Box with a Bird and Flowers | China | Ming dynasty, 16th century | TH-298-2 | ||
| Highlight | Important Cultural Property | Writing Table with Birds and Flowers | China | Ming dynasty, 16th century | TH-298-3 | ||
| Box with Birds and Flowers | China | Ming dynasty, 15th century | TH-366 |