Vessels coated in red over black lacquer, called Negoro wares, were produced largely for Buddhist and Shinto use. They demonstrate simple, sturdy constructions, as in this example with a round body and three curved legs. Buddhist monks would wash their hands in basins like this during a monthly purification ritual (fusatsue) in which they performed self-examination and renewed their vows. Gradually, the outermost red lacquer would become worn, exposing the black underlayer.
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根来足付盥
Title:Ritual Wash Basin (Ashitsuki-darai)
Period:Muromachi period (1392–1573)
Date:16th century
Culture:Japan
Medium:Wood with coatings of red over black lacquer (Negoro ware) and exposed zelkova wood
Dimensions:H. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm); D.13 in. (33 cm)
Classification:Lacquer
Credit Line:Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015
Object Number:2015.500.2.10
[ Klaus F. Naumann , Tokyo, until 1986; sold to Irving]; Florence and Herbert Irving , New York (1986–2015; donated to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "East Asian Lacquer from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection," November 22, 1991–February 23, 1992.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Seasonal Pleasures in Japanese Art, Part II," May 1–September 8, 1996.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of Japan," 1998.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces from the Permanent Collection," July 2–November 29, 2005.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Graceful Gestures: Two Decades of Collecting Japanese Art," 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Drama of Eyes and Hands: Sharaku's Portraits of Kabuki Actors," September 20, 2007–March 24, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "No Ordinary Mortals: The Human Figure in Japanese Art," 2007–2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Ukiyo-e Artists' Responses to Romantic Legends of Two Brothers: Narihira and Yukihira," March 27–June 8, 2008.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Three Perfections: Japanese Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting from the Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection," August 10, 2024–August 3, 2025.
Bincsik, Monika. "The Glory of Urushi: Lacquers for the Japanese Warrior Elite, Monks and Merchants." Arts of Asia 45, no. 6 (November–December 2015). pp. 99–109, fig. 2.
Watt, James C. Y., and Barbara Brennan Ford. East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991, pp. 183–184, cat. no. 75.
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