The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 23, 2025

Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Europeans (lid)

1800s

Japan, Edo period

(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

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
  • {{cite web|title=Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Europeans (lid)|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=23 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

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