Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Dayflowers

Okada Akito Japanese

Not on view

The artist covered this box in black lacquer and decorated the lid with blue dayflowers. The bloom, which lasts for a single day, was used to produce dyes and pigments for ukiyo-e prints and textiles. The decoration is executed in the kinma technique: patterns are carved into black ground layers, filled in with colored lacquer, lacquered again to smooth the surface, and finally polished to a gloss. The technique, introduced to Japan from China, was originally developed in northern Thailand, Laos, and Burma. Okada Akito exhibited regularly at the government-sponsored annual art exhibitions, including the Nitten (after 1947), and he served as a lacquer-restoration master for the Imperial Household collections.

Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Dayflowers, Okada Akito (Japanese, 1910–1968), Lacquered wood with kinma decoration, Japan

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Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Dayflowers, Okada Akito (Japanese, 1910–1968), Lacquered wood with kinma decoration, Japan
Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Dayflowers, Okada Akito (Japanese, 1910–1968), Lacquered wood with kinma decoration, Japan
Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Dayflowers, Okada Akito (Japanese, 1910–1968), Lacquered wood with kinma decoration, Japan

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