Artwork Page for Writing Box with Spitting Courtesan

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Writing Box with Spitting Courtesan

唾を吐く遊女蒔絵硯箱

early to mid-1800s

Japan, Edo period

(1615–1868)
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Medium
Lacquered wood with maki-e (image made of sprinkled gold dust)
Measurements
Box: 21.6 x 19.8 x 3.2 cm (8 1/2 x 7 13/16 x 1 1/4 in.); Closed: 21 cm (8 1/4 in.); Cover: 20.7 x 20.7 cm (8 1/8 x 8 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Worcester R. Warner Collection 1963.260
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

The design on this writing box shows a courtesan who has just completed an impressive feat of spitting the term shinobukoi (忍恋), which could be translated as “hidden love” or “unrequited love,” on an earthen wall. The phrase appeared in classical Japanese poetry anthologies produced by nobles writing in ink on the finest decorated papers. Here, the confining walls of the brothel district become a space for public announcement in graffiti, with the medium being perhaps tea.
A rectangular black lacquer writing box features a maki-e scene of four figures on its lid. On the left, a figure leans forward, exhaling a stream toward large black Japanese calligraphy. Two figures stand in the center, while a fourth sits at a low table holding a fan on the right. Figures with light skin tones wear gold robes with pink accents against a dark background, with golden architectural lines defining the interior space.

Writing Box with Spitting Courtesan

early to mid-1800s

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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