Boxes19th-20th century

Qur'an or Amulet Box

19th-20th century

Description

Small boxes like this one were used to hold small Qur'ans, prayer manuals, or talismanic texts, which were written on long sheets of paper and folded repeatedly or rolled to fit the confines of their containers. The front of the box is decorated with a non-monetary coin surrounded by stylized vine-and-leaf motifs in relief. The coin features a six-pointed star popularly known as the Seal of Solomon, which—since Solomon was believed to have authority over supernatural powers—often adorns talismanic objects and texts. An arched lid closes the box; cords passed through its two handles would have allowed it to be suspended, providing protection to a place or a person.

Classification

Boxes

Medium

Approximately 20 sheets of brass, steel, and nickel silver joined with gray lead-tin solder

Period

Modern

Century

19th-20th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

16 x 18.2 x 2.4 cm (6 5/16 x 7 3/16 x 15/16 in.)

Provenance

Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (by 1992-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.

Related Artworks

Boxes

Violin Case with Landscape Decoration

Unknown Artist, Meiji period, circa 1868-1895

Lacquer on wood with decoration in black and gold utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design), takamaki-e (high-relief sprinkled design), and nashiji ("pear-skinned" ground) techniques; shakudo (copper-gold alloy) fittings

19th centuryJapanese

Boxes

Kōdaiji Scroll Box (Fubako) with Lozenge and Crest Design

Unknown Artist, Momoyama period, late 16th century

Lacquer on wood with Kōdaiji-style decoration in gold and silver utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design), takamaki-e (high-relief sprinkled design), nashiji ("pear-skinned" ground), e-nashiji (pictorial "pear-skinned" ground), and harigaki (linear incising) techniques; [modern] silver fittings

16th centuryJapanese

Boxes

Storage Box for an Official's Inner Cap

Unknown Artist, probably 19th century

Wood, secured with wooden pegs, and with brass fittings

19th centuryKorean

Boxes

Circular Covered Box with Decoration of a Blossoming Chrysanthemum Plant

Unknown Artist, 12th cent. - 13th cent.

Cizhou ware: light gray stoneware with clear glaze over decoration painted in a dark brown slip on a white slip ground

12th-13th centuryChinese

Boxes

Rectangular Tooth-Black Box (Ohagurobako) with Plum Tree Design

Unknown Artist, Style of the Muromachi period, late 15th or early 16th century

Lacquer on wood with decoration in gold and silver utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design) and takamaki-e (high-relief sprinkled design) techniques, applied kirigane (cut gold and silver), and [later] raden (mother-of-pearl) inlays; metal fittings

15th-16th centuryJapanese

Boxes

Box for "Pair of Folding Fans with Paintings by Jiang Tingxi and Calligraphy by Wang Youdun"

Unknown Artist, Kangxi period, first third 18th century

Wood with inscribed characters in gold on lid and interior

Silver

Inkstone Box (Suzuribako) with Geometric Hare-Medallion Design

Unknown Artist, Early Edo period, late 17th century

Lacquer on wood with decoration in gold and silver utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design) and e-nashiji (pictorial "pear-skinned" ground) techniques; stone and copper fittings

17th centuryJapanese