Writing Box with Portrait of Fujiwara no Ietaka and His Poem about the Tatsuta River

18th century

Not on view

Alongside a portrait of its author, Fujiwara no Ietaka (1158–1237), the poem on the lid of this writing box is rendered in fine lacquer decoration (hiramaki-e) to imitate calligraphy in ink. The embellishment of the box’s interior, with autumn maple leaves amid the waves of a river, is inspired by the poem, which reads:

竜田川　紅葉をとづる　うすごほり
わたらば是も　なかやたえなむ

On Tatsuta River,
a layer of red maple leaves
is trapped within thin ice,
and if we were to go across
the brocade would be torn.

—Trans. John T. Carpenter

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

龍田川蒔絵硯箱
Title: Writing Box with Portrait of Fujiwara no Ietaka and His Poem about the Tatsuta River
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 18th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki-e, togidashimaki-e, and red lacquer on silver ground
Dimensions: H. 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm); W. 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm); L. 2 in. (5.1 cm)
Classification: Lacquer
Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Object Number: 29.100.688a–f
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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