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