Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures

Japan

Not on view

The geometric patterns on the sides of this tiered food box derive from Indian and Southeast Asian textiles introduced to Japan through the global trade networks that linked different parts of Asia with one another and with the West. On the box’s top are three figures whose clothing and setting identify them as Chinese. It is possible that the use of figural imagery was spurred by an awareness of figures depicted on contemporaneous lacquer from China and the Ryūkyū Islands (Okinawa).

Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan

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Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan
Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan
Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan
Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan
Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan
Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan
Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan
Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan
Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan
Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan
Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan
Food Box with Striped Decoration and Chinese Figures, Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki‑e, lead, and mother‑of‑pearl inlay on black ground, Japan

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