Height: 38.000 cm
Gift of Sir Harry and Lady Garner
Asia JA 1974.2-26.81
Rooms 92-94: Japan
Octagonal nest of boxes for food
From the Ryūkyū Islands,
Japan
Edo period, 17th century
AD
Red and gold lacquer with litharge painting
This nest of boxes is a good example of how
Chinese techniques of decoration were probably introduced directly
to the Ryūkyū Islands, south-west of the main islands of Japan, in
the East China Sea. The main decoration is painted using the
litharge technique: a small amount of oil is added to the paint so
that it covers the lacquer surface. The Japanese rarely painted
directly over lacquer in this way. The designs are outlined with
gold foil and there are also shallow patches of
L. Smith, V. Harris and T. Clark, Japanese art: masterpieces in (London, The British Museum Press, 1990)
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