The style of clothing worn by the three equestrian figures on the top of this box identifies them as Mongols, a people who ruled over their vast empire from a capital at Dadu (present-day Beijing) in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The representations of Mongols hunting and the decorative motifs on the sides of this box were once outlined with powdered gold that was sprinkled onto the lacquer base; such a technique was also used in China.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Seal Box with Hunters on Horseback
Period:Edo period (1615–1868)
Date:17th–18th century
Culture:Japan (Ryūkyū Islands)
Medium:Black lacquer with mother-of-pearl inlay and gold painting
Dimensions:H. 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm); W. 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm); L. 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm)
Classification:Lacquer
Credit Line:Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015
Object Number:2015.500.2.2a, b
[ Klaus F. Naumann , Tokyo, until 1986; sold to Irving]; Florence and Herbert Irving , New York (1986–2015; donated to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "East Asian Lacquer from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection," November 22, 1991–February 23, 1992.
Urasoe Art Museum. "The Special Commemoration Art Exhibition: 20th Anniversary–Okinawa's Reversion to Japan," September 19, 1992–October 23, 1992.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces from the Permanent Collection," July 2–November 29, 2005.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mother-of-Pearl: A Tradition in Asian Lacquer," December 2, 2006–April 1, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Asian Lacquer: Masterpieces from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection," November 3, 2007–May 11, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Poetry and Travel in Japanese Art," December 18, 2008–May 31, 2009.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Shell and Resin: Korean Mother-of-Pearl and Lacquer," December 13, 2021–July 5, 2022.
Watt, James C. Y., and Barbara Brennan Ford. East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991, pp. 349–350, cat. no. 166.
Leidy, Denise Patry. Mother-of Pearl: A Tradition in Asian Lacquer. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006, p. 68, cat. no. 32.
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