Cosmetics Box with Chrysanthemums (base) (early 1300s): Art, History and Details

Cosmetics Box with Chrysanthemums (base) (early 1300s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

In China, the chrysanthemum was historically appreciated for its association with the Double Nine Festival and the reclusive life of the poet Tao Yuanming (AD 365-427). In Japan, the 16-petaled chrysanthemum came to symbolize the Japanese imperial family after Emperor Gotoba (1180-1239) chose the motif as his personal emblem, having it applied to his sword and everyday utensils. This box proves that the flower also appeared on lacquer wares as early as the Kamakura period.

Object facts

• Title: Cosmetics Box with Chrysanthemums (base)
• Date: early 1300s
• Culture: Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333)
• Type: Lacquer
• Technique: lacquer on wood
• Dimensions: Overall: 17.6 x 29 x 22.8 cm (6 15/16 x 11 7/16 x 9 in.)
• Collection: Japanese Art
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 1963.513.a

A detail from the museum

In Japanese, this type of small box is called a tebako, literally a hand box, and was typically part of a cosmetics set.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• "Oriental Art Recently Acquired by American Museums, 1963." Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America 18 (1964): pp. 69-91.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.

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.