Circular Box China, Ming dynasty, 1400s-1500s lacquer on wood, 1 7/8 inches (4.8 cm) high, 5 3/4 inches (14.6 cm) diameter Funds from Collectors’ Choice 1986 1986.16

This small box shows the painstaking skill required of a master lacquer craftsman. Over a paper-thin wood core, more than a hundred layers of red, black, green, and brownish-yellow lacquer have been applied and then carefully carved to produce a striking sculptural effect. Chinese Song (960-1279), Yuan (1279-1368), and Ming (1368-1644) dynasty lacquer boxes were particularly prized in Japan. Once held in a Japanese collection, this box probably served as an incense container. Its lid is decorated with a central design of five sunken C-scrolls and spearheads that are surrounded by five pommel scrolls, named for the ring pommel on early Chinese swords.


To China