Writing Box (suzuribako) with Waterfall and Auspicious Characters

Writing Box (suzuribako) with Waterfall and Auspicious Characters

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The writing box (suzuri-bako) contains an inkstone, a water dropper in the shape of cherry blossoms, and a brush. The design on the front of the lid is dominated by a rapid waterfall; the stream descends through a range of mountains and rocks surrounded by pine trees and bamboo grass. The river is depicted in gold and silver maki-e that has been burnished down until it is completely flat, a technique called togidashi. Fine lines express the fast-flowing water. At the bottom of the waterfall, bubbly waves are executed in silver and are further enhanced with silver-inlaid roundels to express water drops. There are seven gold-inlaid characters that might refer to a poem or express auspicious notions, such as “turtle” or “thousand years.” Inside the lid the waterfall design is repeated without the characters. The design might refer to the picturesque Miyano-taki falls near Yoshino (Nara Prefecture), a waterfall that has significance in Japanese literature.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Writing Box (suzuribako) with Waterfall and Auspicious CharactersWriting Box (suzuribako) with Waterfall and Auspicious CharactersWriting Box (suzuribako) with Waterfall and Auspicious CharactersWriting Box (suzuribako) with Waterfall and Auspicious CharactersWriting Box (suzuribako) with Waterfall and Auspicious Characters

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.