Skip to Main Content

Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Europeans (lid)

1800s
(1615-1868)
lacquered wood with gold maki-e, silver inlay and red lacquer on black ground
23 x 20.2 cm (9 1/16 x 7 15/16 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1969.59.b
Location: not on view
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Description

For many Japanese patrons, objects decorated with images of foreigners offered the rare opportunity to see westerners. The two men on the left were likely Portuguese traders, identifiable by their balloon-shaped pants. The man on the right is a Jesuit priest. Portuguese traders arrived in Japan in 1543 and soon after Christian missionaries began to create outposts there. By the early 17th century, Christianity was outlawed and the Portuguese were forced out of Japan. This object was created during the short period when the Portuguese were allowed in Japan.
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Europeans (lid)

Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Europeans (lid)

1800s

Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)

See Also

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.