The technique of combining fine basketry weaving with Chinese lacquer first appeared in the late sixteenth century. Basketry panels were installed on the sides of lacquer containers that were used to present gifts and important documents. The colorful painting of birds and flowers on this cover probably came from a pattern book, as multiblock color printing became popular in southern China in the same period.
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明晚期 編竹黑漆彩繪花鳥紋委角長方盒
Title:Box with gardenia, plum blossoms, and finches
Period:Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Date:late 16th–early 17th century
Culture:China
Medium:Black lacquer painted with lacquer and oil-based pigments; basketry panels
Dimensions:H. 4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm); W.18 3/8 in. (46.7 cm); D. 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Classification:Lacquer
Credit Line:Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015
Object Number:2015.500.1.61a, 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: Painted and Carved," 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Lacquer: An Introduction," December 4, 2007–May 11, 2008.
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 Gardens: Pavilions, Studios, Retreats," August 18, 2012–January 6, 2013.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Spirited Creatures: Animal Representations in Chinese Silk and Lacquer," October 21, 2017–July 22, 2018.
Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. "Transcending Transience: Art and Culture of Late-Ming Jiangnan," March 21, 2025–July 20, 2025.
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, p. 141, cat. no. 65.
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