9th-10th century
Silver-form, lobed box and cover with indented sides, the box supported on a splayed foot, the domed cover with stylized floral decor raised in thread-relief and lightly embellished with splashes of green; white earthenware with lead-fluxed copper-green splashed glaze over molded decoration; with Chinese ideograph of the surname Zhao (趙) raised in thread-relief on the base. Copper-splashed sancai ware. From northern China, Henan, Hebei, or Shaanxi province.
H. 6.5 x Diam. 6.8 cm (2 9/16 x 2 11/16 in.)
[J. J. Lally & Co., New York, 2002] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2002-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.
Lacquer on wood with decoration in gold and silver utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design), takamaki-e (high-relief sprinkled design), and nashiji ("pear-skinned" ground) techniques, and with silver and raden (mother-of-pearl) inlays; metal fittings
18th centuryJapaneseCarved ivory
19th centuryChineseLacquer on wood
JapaneseKamakura-bori; black and cinnabar lacquers over a carved wooden core
14th-15th centuryJapaneseLacquer on wood with decoration in gold and silver utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design) and togidashi maki-e (sprinkled design revealed by polishing) techniques, and with applied kirigane (cut gold and silver); metal fittings and silk cord
17th-18th centuryJapaneseLacquer on wood with decoration in gold and silver utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design), takamaki-e (high-relief sprinkled design), and nashiji ("pear-skinned" ground) techniques
18th centuryJapanese
Iron or bronze with decoration applied in gold; with small cartouche on the cover reading "Kingakuji" and a maker's mark in gold on the base; the interior of box and cover lined with sheet gold, the linings cursorily engraved with landscapes
19th-20th centuryJapaneseLacquer on wood
JapaneseLacquer on wood with decoration in gold, silver, and sabi urushi (thick lacquer paste) utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design), takamaki-e (high-relief sprinkled design), and nashiji ("pear-skinned" ground) techniques, with applied kirigane (cut gold and silver) and with sheet-lead inlays; stone and metal fittings
17th-18th centuryJapaneseOff-white stoneware with pale celadon glaze over decoration applied in white slip, the decoration embellished with incising and with touches of iron-brown slip in localized areas. Possibly from the Yaozhou kilns, near Tongchuan, Shaanxi province.
9th centuryChinese