Shelf for Cosmetic Boxes (Kuro-dana) with Pine, Bamboo, Cherry Blossoms, and Crests of the Matsudaira and Shimazu Families

Shelf for Cosmetic Boxes (Kuro-dana) with Pine, Bamboo, Cherry Blossoms, and Crests of the Matsudaira and Shimazu Families

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This display shelf was created as one of the centerpieces of a wedding trousseau that probably included more than fifty lacquer accessories and pieces of furniture, thirty-one of which were acquired by The Met in 1910. It was commissioned to celebrate the marriage of Princess Taka (1809–1862), from the wealthy and influential Shimazu clan, and a son of the Matsudaira clan, which ruled over the Kuwana domain of Ise province (present-day Mie prefecture). The two family crests on the piece—the cross shape of the Shimazu and the stylized plum flower of the Matsudaira—symbolize the union. The shelves, decorated with an unusual combination of auspicious symbols (pine, bamboo, and cherry blossoms), held mainly cosmetic boxes, including the utensils for tooth blackening (haguro), a custom of high-ranking women after their weddings.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Shelf for Cosmetic Boxes (Kuro-dana) with Pine, Bamboo, Cherry Blossoms, and Crests of the Matsudaira and Shimazu FamiliesShelf for Cosmetic Boxes (Kuro-dana) with Pine, Bamboo, Cherry Blossoms, and Crests of the Matsudaira and Shimazu FamiliesShelf for Cosmetic Boxes (Kuro-dana) with Pine, Bamboo, Cherry Blossoms, and Crests of the Matsudaira and Shimazu FamiliesShelf for Cosmetic Boxes (Kuro-dana) with Pine, Bamboo, Cherry Blossoms, and Crests of the Matsudaira and Shimazu FamiliesShelf for Cosmetic Boxes (Kuro-dana) with Pine, Bamboo, Cherry Blossoms, and Crests of the Matsudaira and Shimazu Families

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.