Incense Box with Incense Implements (Translation)
松竹梅蒔絵香箱 江戶時代 1826年頃 (Primary Title)
Set of Incense ceremony implements 松竹梅蒔絵十種香箱 硯箱 文台 (Series Title)
Unknown (Artist)
Decorated with designs of pine, bamboo, and cherry blossoms, this remarkable lacquer box was commissioned as a part of the dowry for the wedding between two powerful feudal lords (daimyo) in January 1827. The family crests can be seen in the form of a cross in a circle for the bride’s Shimazu family, and the plum blossom for the groom’s Hisamatsu-Matsudaira family. Elaborately crafted boxes like this one held the necessary tools for use in the incense ceremony (kodo), a ritual of the feudal aristocracy and the imperial family.
Edo period (1615-1868)
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By exchange, the following gifts and bequests: Estate of Lewis H. Blair; Honorable David K. E. Bruce; Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, gift of the Winfield Foundation; Senator Hugh Scott
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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