Seal Box with Hunters on Horseback

Japan (Ryūkyū Islands)

Not on view

The style of clothing worn by the three equestrian figures on the top of this box identifies them as Mongols, a people who ruled over their vast empire from a capital at Dadu (present-day Beijing) in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The representations of Mongols hunting and the decorative motifs on the sides of this box were once outlined with powdered gold that was sprinkled onto the lacquer base; such a technique was also used in China.

Seal Box with Hunters on Horseback, Black lacquer with mother-of-pearl inlay and gold painting, Japan (Ryūkyū Islands)

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Seal Box with Hunters on Horseback, Black lacquer with mother-of-pearl inlay and gold painting, Japan (Ryūkyū Islands)
Seal Box with Hunters on Horseback, Black lacquer with mother-of-pearl inlay and gold painting, Japan (Ryūkyū Islands)

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