Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Box for Square Calligraphy Paper (shikishi-bako) with an Auspicious Landscape of Young Pines and Nandina Shrubs

second half of the 19th century
Not on view
Shikishi—decorative, square-shaped poem cards—are used for calligraphy or painting. The paper is usually decorated with gold or silver flakes and has a printed or painted design that will serve as the background to the calligraphy. As they are precious calligraphy items, square-shaped lacquer boxes (shikishi-bako) were made to store them. This shikishi-box represents a landscape with young pines and nandina shrubs. The young pines symbolize the renewal of nature and longevity, while the evergreen “heavenly bamboo,” the nandina, bears red berries that ripen in late autumn and persist through the winter.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 若松南天蒔絵色紙箱
  • Title: Box for Square Calligraphy Paper (shikishi-bako) with an Auspicious Landscape of Young Pines and Nandina Shrubs
  • Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
  • Date: second half of the 19th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Lacquered wood with gold, silver, red hiramaki-e, takamaki-e, cutout gold foil application on black and nashiji lacquer ground
  • Dimensions: H. 2 1/8 in. (5.4 cm); W. 8 in. (20.3 cm); D. 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
  • Classification: Lacquer
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Stephen Whitney Phoenix, 1881
  • Object Number: 81.1.152a, b
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with the Poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e and hiramaki-e and cutout gold- and silver-foil application; lead rim, Japan
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with the Poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Japan
18th century
Shō, Bamboo wood, metal, Japanese
Shō
Japanese
19th century
Incense Box (kōbako) in the Shape of Five Volumes of The Tale of Genji, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold- and silver-foil application, and red and green lacquer, Japan
Incense Box (kōbako) in the Shape of Five Volumes of The Tale of Genji
Japan
late 19th century
Koto (箏), Various woods, ivory, metal, nylon, tortoiseshell, abalone, lacquerwork, Japanese
Koto (箏)
Japanese
20th century

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.