The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Europeans

1800s

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.a
Location: Not on view

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.
  • ?–1965
    (Robert Rousset [1901–1982], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1965–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 236); April 19, 2013 - December 24, 2013
    The Cleveland Museum of Art; 8/14/01-9/16/01 (2nd of 2 rotations). "Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art."
    Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 15-September 16, 2001).
    Cleveland Museum of Art, 1970: Year in Review 1969.
  • {{cite web|title=Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Europeans|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1969.59.a