Picnic Set with Food Boxes and a Sake Bottle
Picnic Set with Food Boxes and a Sake Bottle
DateEdo-Meiji period, late 19th century
Mediumlacquer and gold on wood; gold, silver, and red nashiji-e and hiramaki-e lacquer; metal handle and fittings; signed "Ipposai"
Dimensionsobject: 13 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 13 5/8 in. (34.3 x 19.1 x 34.6 cm)
ClassificationMATERIAL CULTURE
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of F. Bailey Vanderhoef, Jr.
Object number1991.148.98a-i
Subject(s)
- musical instrument
- dance
- plants
Collection
- Asian
Sub-Collection(s)
- Japanese
On View
On viewLabel TextThe decorations on this picnic set and the unusual sake
bottle in the shape of a pipe organ (shō) reflect a playful aesthetic (asobi)
popular during the Edo period. The dance headdresses under brilliant red
maples, along with a zither, a lute, a flute, and a drum in a
flame-embellished frame, are accoutrements for the performance of bugaku,
a court dance, once reserved for the enjoyment of courtiers. The noble pursuit
of ancient courtiers now playfully embellishes a utilitarian object made to
delight contemporary townspeople during picnics and autumn maple viewings.
China, Zhejiang province
Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
robe fragment late 18th-early 19th century, screen before 1934
