Basketry Box for Square Calligraphy Paper (Shikishibako) with Paulownia

Basketry Box for Square Calligraphy Paper (Shikishibako) with Paulownia

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The light, durable bodies of Japanese lacquered basketry works (rantai shikki) were sometimes further decorated with designs in sprinkled gold powder (maki-e), transforming everyday objects into opulent treasures. This box, designed to hold square calligraphy paper (shikishi), bears large gold paulownia crests, a popular design from the late sixteenth to the early seventeenth century associated with the powerful warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536–1598).

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Basketry Box for Square Calligraphy Paper (Shikishibako) with PaulowniaBasketry Box for Square Calligraphy Paper (Shikishibako) with PaulowniaBasketry Box for Square Calligraphy Paper (Shikishibako) with PaulowniaBasketry Box for Square Calligraphy Paper (Shikishibako) with PaulowniaBasketry Box for Square Calligraphy Paper (Shikishibako) with Paulownia

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.