Inkstone Box (Suzuribako) and Document Box (Ryōshibako)

Iizuka Hōsai II Japanese

Not on view

This set of document and writing boxes from 1923, complete with an inkstone and water dropper, seems to signal Iizuka Hōsai II’s intention to express himself creatively by making distinctly Japanese-style objects; this type of set is not used in China. In Japan, such boxes are typically made by lacquer masters, who embellish them with maki-e or mother-of-pearl inlay. The tight, meticulous plaiting here reflects the artist’s experience with Chinese-style (karamono) pieces, but the interiors are decorated with fine gold maki-e, an unusually luxurious finish for a bamboo work and one that is also unmistakably Japanese. According to a note preserved with the boxes, he made them as replicas of originals presented to the Meiji emperor.

Inkstone Box (Suzuribako) and Document Box (Ryōshibako), Iizuka Hōsai II (Japanese, 1872–1934), Timber bamboo, rattan, lacquer, and gold powder, Japan

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Inkstone Box (Suzuribako) and Document Box (Ryōshibako), Iizuka Hōsai II (Japanese, 1872–1934), Timber bamboo, rattan, lacquer, and gold powder, Japan
Inkstone Box (Suzuribako) and Document Box (Ryōshibako), Iizuka Hōsai II (Japanese, 1872–1934), Timber bamboo, rattan, lacquer, and gold powder, Japan
Inkstone Box (Suzuribako) and Document Box (Ryōshibako), Iizuka Hōsai II (Japanese, 1872–1934), Timber bamboo, rattan, lacquer, and gold powder, Japan

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