Lacquer box with bird and flower design

Historical period(s)
Yuan dynasty, 14th century
Medium
Carved red lacquer on wood core
Dimensions
H x W x D: 7.5 x 17.8 x 17.8 cm (2 15/16 x 7 x 7 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1987.390a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Container, Lacquer
Type

Box

Keywords
bird, China, flower, parrot, peony, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

The motif of two long-tailed birds amid a lush array of flowers first gained popularity in lacquerware of the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368).  This box exemplifies the almost sculptural treatment of this motif in the Yuan dynasty, when each element in a lacquer design was rendered in high-relief and kept spatially discrete from neighboring elements.

Published References
  • Around Chigusa: Tea and The Arts of Sixteenth-Century Japan. Princeton, New Jersey. p. 48, fig. 5.
  • Xi Mengcao. Haiwai guizhen teji: Zhongguo qiqi [Chinese Treasures Overseas, a special collection at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery]. no. 71, July 1991. pp. 76-81.
  • Lee Yu-kuan. Oriental Lacquer Art., 1st ed. New York. p. 162.
  • et al. Asian Art in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery: The Inaugural Gift. Washington, 1987. cat. 173, p. 264.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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