Nanban Cabinet with Drawers

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the second half of the sixteenth century, Japanese lacquer made for Western markets was known as Nanban (Southern Barbarian) lacquer, a reference to the epithet given to foreigners from Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Many of these export lacquers were made in Kyoto. Six-drawer cabinets of this type, listed in European collections as secrétaires or comptoiren, would generally have had a fall-front door. One of the earliest examples of an export cabinet without a fall front was inventoried at Schloss Ambras in Austria, around 1607. The drawer fronts of this sumptuous, small, and richly embellished cabinet are densely decorated with autumn flowers and shells, while geometric patterns, floral designs, and repeated intersecting-circle motifs (shippo) embellish the dividers. The top and sides display complex compositions inspired by Japanese literary classics. The unusual size and iconography of the cabinet indicate that it could have been a special order.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art