Inkstone box

Object Details

• Description

  Inkstone box (suzuribako) consisting of: inkstone box (a-b), interior partition assembly (c), inkstone (d), water-dropper (e), and water-dropper holder (f). It is housed in a black lacquer outer box with a stained silk wrapper.

  This suzuribako is a fine example of maki-e lacquer from the late Muromachi period. The design on the exterior of the lid is executed in gold and silver in low relief (takamaki-e). It depicts camellias behind a garden fence, with metal-sheathed wooden hoes in the foreground. The interior of the box is decorated in gold maki-e with a scene of a flowering plum tree growing beside a pond. A pair of frogs, an unusual motif in Japanese maki-e works, is depicted in the pond. The interior of the box is decorated with flowering plum branches and the silver water-dropper (suiteki) is cast in the form of a plum blossom.

• Provenance

  To 1992

  Mr. Yoshiyuki Hosomi, Tokyo, to 1992

  From 1992

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Mr. Yoshiyuki Hosomi in 1992

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Moonlight and Clouds: Silver and Gold in the Arts of Japan (November 11, 2008 to November 11, 2009)

  East of Eden: Gardens in Asian Art (February 24 to May 13, 2007)

  Honoring Friends: Recent Gifts by Members of the Freer and Sackler Galleries (June 10 to November 25, 2001)

  Japanese Art (May 9, 1993 to June 27, 1994)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Hosomi Yoshiyuki

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — funds provided by the Friends of Asian Arts and the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program

• Type

  Container

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1500s, 1570s

• Name

  Hosomi, Yoshiyuki

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Frogs, Art, Muromachi period (1333 - 1573), Animals, Camellia, Maki-e, Japanese Art, Lacquer, Writing, Plum blossom

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Containers