Shikishi (square calligraphy paper) Box with Design of Flowers and Praying Mantis

second half of the19th century

Not on view

Writing boxes were produced in large numbers from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century—a testament to the rise of literacy in Japan. As is typical of such boxes, the interior of this piece has a different but related design and holds an inkstone and other implements for writing and ink making. The box’s surface, richly decorated with an image of a praying mantis beneath a basket of strawberry geraniums, is typical of the art of the Meiji period. In Japanese lacquers intended for domestic use, pearl shell plays a secondary role in the decoration; here, it outlines the edges of the flower basket.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

花草蟷螂蒔絵色紙箱
Title: Shikishi (square calligraphy paper) Box with Design of Flowers and Praying Mantis
Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
Date: second half of the19th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Lacquered wood with gold, silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, cutout gold foil application, mother-of-pearl inlay on black lacquer ground
Dimensions: H. 9 3/4 (24.8 cm); W. 8 in. (20.3 cm); D. 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm)
Classification: Lacquer
Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
Object Number: 14.40.838a, b
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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