Writing Box with Design of Flowering Bush Clover and Sun

Art Historical Context

This delicate writing box (*suzuribako*), crafted in Japan during the first half of the th century in the Edo period (161–1868), exemplifies era's mastery of lacquerware. Measuring just over 2 inches high and nearly 10 inches square, it was designed as a portable vanity for scholars, merchants, and elites, containing compartments for inkstones, brushes, and papers. The surface features a poetic design of flowering bush clover—symbolizing autumn's fleeting beauty and resilience—bathed in radiant sunlight, evoking harmony between nature and the cosmos, a common motif in Japanese art. The box's brilliance comes from advanced *maki-e* techniques, where artisans sprinkled fine gold and silver powders onto wet lacquer for shimmering effects. *Hiramaki-e* creates flat, luminous fields; *takamaki-e* builds raised, textured motifs; *togidashimaki-e* burnishes layers to reveal subtle colors beneath; and cut-out gold foil adds intricate, jewel-like details. These methods, refined over centuries, highlight Edo Japan's prosperity and the lacquer artists' (*urushi-e* specialists) extraordinary patience and skill. Bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1913 by collector Benjamin Altman, this piece captures the refined aesthetic of a peaceful, urbanizing society, inviting us to appreciate the artistry in everyday elegance.