Cabinet of Drawers with Birds, Flowers, and Court Carriage

Cabinet of Drawers with Birds, Flowers, and Court Carriage

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Portuguese and Spanish who visited Japan during the Momoyama period were fascinated by the exotic appearance of gold‑decorated lacquer associated with the taste of warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598). As a result, lacquer commissioned for the European market typically adopted this flamboyant style (Kōdaiji maki‑e). Among the earliest goods exported from Japan, such pieces are known collectively as nanban (Southern Barbarian), the Japanese appellation for foreigners. The form of this cabinet is based on the European vargueno or escritorios, a chest of drawers with a drop front that served as a surface for writing. Its decorative patterns depict Japanese subjects, including a court carriage and courtiers, maple, mandarin orange, and cherry trees, camellia flowers, wisteria branches, and birds. The decorative bands of the borders are embellished with geometric designs.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cabinet of Drawers with Birds, Flowers, and Court CarriageCabinet of Drawers with Birds, Flowers, and Court CarriageCabinet of Drawers with Birds, Flowers, and Court CarriageCabinet of Drawers with Birds, Flowers, and Court CarriageCabinet of Drawers with Birds, Flowers, and Court Carriage

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.