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

second half of the 19th century
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 鴛鴦形蒔絵香合
  • Title: Pair of Incense Boxes (Kōgō) in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks
  • Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
  • Date: second half of the 19th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold foil application
  • Dimensions: H. (with tray) 5 in. (12.7 cm); W. 5 in. (15.2 cm); L. 6 in. (12.7 cm)
  • Classification: Lacquer
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
  • Object Number: 14.40.820a–e
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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