The adorable girls peeking around the wall at the woman and dogs in the garden are found in at least two other works from the period. This scene likely illustrates a well-known moment from a literary work or a play. Every panel and column of the architecture is decorated with a distinct pattern, attesting to the painstaking labor needed to create the scene. Each of the sixteen cartouches on the sides shows different flowers and birds.
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Artwork Details
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明早期 黑漆嵌螺鈿人物花鳥紋撞盒
Title:Tiered Box with Figural Scenes, Flowers, and Birds
Period:Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Date:first half of the 15th century
Culture:China
Medium:Black lacquer with mother-of-pearl inlay
Dimensions:H. 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm); W. 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm); D. 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm)
Classification:Lacquer
Credit Line:Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015
Accession Number:2015.500.1.12a, b
[ Klaus F. Naumann , Tokyo, until 1989; sold to Irving]; Florence and Herbert Irving , New York (1989–2015; donated to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "East Asian Lacquer from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection," November 22, 1991–February 23, 1992.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Lacquer," July 18–November 14, 2005.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mother-of-Pearl: A Tradition in Asian Lacquer," December 2, 2006–April 1, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Asian Lacquer: Masterpieces from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection," November 3, 2007–May 11, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Yuan Revolution: Art and Dynastic Change," August 21, 2010–January 9, 2011.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Red and Black: Chinese Lacquer, 13th–16th Century," September 7, 2011–June 10, 2012.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Lacquer: Treasures from the Irving Collection, 12th–18th Century," August 15, 2015–June 19, 2016.
Watt, James C. Y., and Barbara Brennan Ford. East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991, pp. 129–30, cat. no. 57.
Leidy, Denise Patry. Mother-of Pearl: A Tradition in Asian Lacquer. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006, p. 54, cat. no. 5.
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