Suntory Museum of Art
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Notable Works
Box for incense wood with autumn flower design in mother-of-pearl inlay and maki-e

Notable Works

Lacquerware

Box for incense wood with autumn flower design in mother-of-pearl inlay and maki-e

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Artist: Attributed to Igarashi Doho
Number of components: 1
Dimensions (in cm): W. 10.5, D: 11.4, H. 7.6
Date of production: Edo period Middle of the 17th century

This is a two-tiered box for storing incense wood. The surface is heavily sprinkled with gold dust. Bush clover, Gentian, silver grass (Japanese pampas grass), Patrinia, aster, Chinese bellflower and other autumn flowers are depicted on the top of the lid and the sides in blue shell and lacquer lines sprinkled with gold and silver filings on raised takamaki-e. To create variety, blue shell has been used for the Chinese bellflower and small pieces of thin gold sheet for the aster and Patrinia. The autumn flowers are studded with silver to render mist. Paulownia, chrysanthemum, plum branches and long-tailed cocks are depicted on the inside of the lid and the inside of each tier, which are also heavily sprinkled with gold dust. The maki-e technique is extremely elaborate and precise in the style of the famous Igarashi school of master craftsmen.

Notable Works

Box for incense wood with autumn flower design in mother-of-pearl inlay and maki-e

SUNTORY MUSEUM of ART