Ryōshibako with conch
Item number: T-1705Size: H 4.8" x L 15.8" x W 12.4" (12.3 x 40.1 x 31.6 cm)
Age: 19th century
Box inscription: takamakie akikusa hanazu bunko
高蒔絵秋草花図文庫
Large rectangular ryōshibako box for writing paper, decorated on the outside with a conch horn in takamakie high-relief gold lacquer with togidashi details in silver black and red lacquers and an inlaid solid silver mouth piece. The conch horn is placed on a ground of very fine sprinkled nashiji lacquer, applied on all surfaces. The simple outside decoration scheme is contrasted with a lavish scene on the lid interior: five bell crickets gambol amid a luxurious profusion of fall grasses and flowers. All imaginable lacquer techniques are used in the highly detailed and naturalistic rendering of the autumn scene: takamakie high-relief leaves and rocks with mosaics of inlaid kirigane gold foil pieces, the flowers in several hues of gold in takamakie and hiramakie lacquer, the elderberry blossoms with a nashiji base and gold details on top, and the crickets in minute details, done entirely in takamakie black lacquer. The inside surfaces are decorated with okibirame,—individually inlaid flakes of gold leaf—and the edges are in kinji gold lacquer.
The autumnal scene is described with the following plants, flowering in the late summer and early autumn: nadeshiko (wild pink), hagi (bush clover), susuki (eulalia), kuzu (arrowroot), and kikyō (bellflower), among others.
The tasseled conch horn refers to the Yamabushi, Japanese ascetic mountain priests who regularly use such horns in religious rituals. The Yamabushi perform major rituals in the autumn, for example during the Dewa Sanzan pilgrimage, and have long been associated with nature in the Japanese mountainsides. Thus a connection can be made between the outside and inside of the box.
Furthermore, the box is a good example of the uramasari aesthetics in Japanese art. The term, which can be translated »hidden decoration« or literally »inner victory,« was originally used for textiles. From the outside, a piece of clothing (e.g. haori) could look simple, but when opened, would reveal a complex, luxurious design. This is often a characteristic in many fields of Japanese art,
including architecture: the artist hides the more intricate and skillfully created sections from the outside viewer and the inner riches are revealed only upon entering the inner space. In the case of the lacquer box, the relative simplicity of the outside design was probably created in order to increase the sense of delight upon seeing the inner complexities. The cover with its slightly puzzling object (what could be connected to a conch?) might have been designed as a provocation to the viewer—who would then open up and be dazzled by the luxurious splendor of the autumn scene.
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