Base of Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Chrysanthemum and Plum Containing Inkstone, Water-dropper, Brushes, Ink-stick Holder, and Paper Knife (late 1800s-early 1900s): Art, History and Details

Base of Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Chrysanthemum and Plum Containing Inkstone, Water-dropper, Brushes, Ink-stick Holder, and Paper Knife (late 1800s-early 1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Both functional and elegant, this is a container for an ink stone, brushes, and ink from a set of writing tools that included a larger box for paper. Against a sleek gold lacquered ground, its artist has used restraint in sprinkled powder decoration (maki-e) to produce the design of cockscomb and harvested rice on the interior of the lid.

Object facts

• Title: Base of Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Chrysanthemum and Plum Containing Inkstone, Water-dropper, Brushes, Ink-stick Holder, and Paper Knife
• Date: late 1800s-early 1900s
• Culture: Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)
• Type: Lacquer
• Technique: Lacquer over wood with gold and silver sprinkled powder (maki-e)
• Collection: Japanese Art
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 1992.389.a

Collection credit

Bequest of Maud Eells Corning

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.