Inkstone box (Suzuribako) in the form of a plum blossom

Object Details

• Provenance

  ?-1892

  Yokoyama family, Kaga, Japan [1]

  1892-?

  Unidentified person, method of acquisition unknown [2]

  ?-2002

  Orientations Gallery, New York, NY [3]

  2002-2021

  Jacqueline Avant (1940-2021), Beverly Hills, CA, purchased from Orientations Gallery, New York, NY in New York, NY [4]

  2021-2023

  Jacqueline Avant Estate [5]

  From 2023

  National Museum of Asian Art, gift of the Jacqueline Avant Estate [6]

  Notes:

  [1] The object was likely made for the Yokoyama family. The shape of the suzuribako represents the mon (family crest) of the Yokoyama clan. The Yokoyama clan were high ranking retainers to the Maeda, daimyo of Kanazawa in the province of Kaga. A vertical strip of paper that was persevered in the box notes that this box was sold by the Yokoyama family in 1892. This information is mentioned in the receipt from the Orientation Gallery, New York from 2002. It’s unknown who the Yokoyama sold the box to in 1892 and when it came to the ownership of the Orientations Gallery.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See receipt from Orientation Gallery, New York, NY from May 9, 2002, for a “Plum blossom-form suzuribako from the Yokoyama clan with tomobako. Japan, late 18th century (mid-Edo period)”. See object file, Collections Management Office.

  [4] See note 1. Mrs. Jacqueline Avant began collecting Japanese lacquerware in 1995.

  [5] Upon Mrs. Avant’s death, the object came to the Jacqueline Avant Estate.

  [6] In June 2023, the National Museum of Asian Art accepted 87 works from the Jacqueline Avant Estate. This was part of the gift. See Deed of Gift, object file, Collections Management Office.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yokoyama family

  Orientations Gallery

  Jacqueline Avant (1940-2021)

  Jacqueline Avant Estate

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of the Jacqueline Avant Estate

• Type

  Container

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1790s

• Name

  Yokoyama, Jacqueline Avant Estate, Avant, Jacqueline, Orientations Gallery

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Art, Inlay (process), Japanese Art, Lacquer, Jacqueline Avant collection

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Containers