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Sep 21, 2020
Sep 21, 2020
Sep 21, 2020
Writing Box with Spitting Courtesan
Writing Box with Spitting Courtesan
唾を吐く遊女蒔絵硯箱
early to mid-1800s
Part of a set. See all set records
Japan, Edo period
(1615-1868)
Lacquered wood with maki-e (image made of sprinkled gold dust)
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.)
Worcester R. Warner Collection 1963.260.a
Location
Exhibition
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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.
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