Red Lacquer Box and Water-Pot
19th century
Medium
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
8 1/4 x 7 3/8 in. (21 x 18.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
JP1973
Art Historical Context
Behold the exquisite *Red Lacquer Box and Water-Pot*, a 19th-century woodblock (surimono) by Ryūryūkyo Shinsai, a master of Japan's ukiyo-e tradition the late Edo period (1615–1868). This intimate work, measuring just 8¼ x 7⅜ inches, captures the allure of traditional lacquerware—a red box and water pot—rendered in vibrant inks and colors on. Surimono, meaning "printed things," were luxurious, privately commissioned prints often produced for poetic societies or New Year's greetings, showcasing superior craftsmanship with fine lines, subtle gradients, and sometimes embossing or mica for a tacti...
About the Artist
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai · 1799–1823
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai (柳々居辰斎), active from 1799 to 1823, was a prominent Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker based in Edo (modern Tokyo), renowned for his mastery of surimono—luxurious, privately commissioned woodblock prints produced for elite poetry circles and New Year's celebrations. He began his training under Tawaraya Sōri before becoming a student of the legendary Katsushika Hokusai, from whom he recei...