Document box

Historical period(s)
Momoyama or Edo period, 17th century
Medium
Lacquer over wood with mother of pearl inlay
Dimensions
H x W x D: 8.2 x 44 x 12.6 cm (3 1/4 x 17 5/16 x 4 15/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Okinawa prefecture, Naha, Ryukyu Islands
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1973.9a-e
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Container, Lacquer
Type

Box

Keywords
bamboo, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, Momoyama period (1573 - 1615), pine tree
Provenance

By 1970-1973
Alice Boney Chinese Art, New York, NY method of acquisition unknown [1]

From 1973
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Alice Boney Chinese Art [2]

Notes:

[1] Alice Boney first presented the object to the Freer Gallery of Art on February 21, 1970, see letter from Alice Boney to Harold Stern (1922-1977), Director of Freer Gallery of Art, original in object file. See also invoice from Alice Boney Chinese Art, New York to Freer Gallery of Art, July 1, 1973, copy in object file. In the 1920s, Alice Boney (1901-1988) married Jan Kleykamp (b.1897), an established dealer of Dutch art. After their honeymoon travels, Boney joined her husband in Jan Kleykamp Gallery and the couple became the first dealers in the city of New York to sell Chinese art. After Boney and Kleykamp divorced, Boney established the gallery Alice Boney Chinese Art. She was recognized as a preeminent authority on Chinese art and sold to illustrious clients, including William H. Morris and President Herbert Hoover.

[2] The Freer Gallery of Art purchased the object on July 25, 1973, see Alice Boney Chinese Art invoice, issued July 1, 1973, original in object file.

Research completed November 18, 2022.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Alice Boney 1901-1988

Published References
  • Julia Murray. A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980. Exh. cat. Washington, 1979. cat. 77, pp. 98-99.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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