Chest for Storing Garments China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

Chest for Storing Garments

存放袈裟的箱子

1400s

China, Ming dynasty

(1368–1644)

lacquered wood with mother-of-pearl inlay

Overall: 43 x 56 x 54.7 cm (16 15/16 x 22 1/16 x 21 9/16 in.)

Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1975.10

Location: not on view

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Did You Know?

Lacquer chests of this type were used to store garments.

Description

This precious lacquer box is decorated with bird and plant motifs and figures in mother-of-pearl inlay. The decoration depicts the leisurely pursuit of scholars in nature and a garden setting. Scholars play the board game weiqi, have philosophical conversations, pluck a qin (a zither-like instrument with strings), and read books.

Lacquer chests of this type were used to store garments neatly folded along their straight seams. The mother-of-pearl inlay from shells is a technique that was typically practiced by craftsmen in Hangzhou and other parts of southeast China near the sea.