Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks

Japan

Not on view

The Altman bequest to The Met included fifty Japanese lacquers, featuring a group of small decorative incense boxes. Such objects were popular collectibles in Europe during the second half of the nineteenth century, following the eighteenth-century fashion of collecting small maki-e objects as part of aristocratic interior decoration. In East Asia mandarin ducks represent marital bliss and fidelity; they are often depicted on ceramics, lacquers, and textiles as auspicious symbols associated with weddings.

Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan

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Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan
Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application, Japan

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