Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Dayflowers

ca. 1930s

Not on view

The artist covered this box in black lacquer and decorated the lid with blue dayflowers. The bloom, which lasts for a single day, was used to produce dyes and pigments for ukiyo-e prints and textiles. The decoration is executed in the kinma technique: patterns are carved into black ground layers, filled in with colored lacquer, lacquered again to smooth the surface, and finally polished to a gloss. The technique, introduced to Japan from China, was originally developed in northern Thailand, Laos, and Burma. Okada Akito exhibited regularly at the government-sponsored annual art exhibitions, including the Nitten (after 1947), and he served as a lacquer-restoration master for the Imperial Household collections.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

岡田章人作　露草蒟醬料紙箱
Title: Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Dayflowers
Artist: Okada Akito (Japanese, 1910–1968)
Period: Shōwa period (1926–89)
Date: ca. 1930s
Culture: Japan
Medium: Lacquered wood with kinma decoration
Dimensions: H. 5 3/16 in. (13.2 cm); W. 11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm); L. 14 7/16 in. (36.7 cm)
Classification: Lacquer
Credit Line: Gift of Erik and Cornelia Thomsen, 2016
Object Number: 2016.746a–c
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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