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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2010.446.A-B
People
Yamazaki Mushū (Yamazaki Atsushi) (born 1966)
Title
Early Spring, Hexagonal Tea Caddy with Decoration of Flowering Plants, Grasses and Pine Needles
Other Titles
Transliterated Title: Kanshitsu chaki "Sōshun"
Classification
Boxes
Work Type
box
Date
datable to 2008
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Japan, Kyoto Metropolitan Area, Kyōto
Period
Heisei era, 1989-2019
Culture
Japanese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/336558

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Dry lacquer; dark brown lacquer over fabric core, the decoration on the exterior in "takamakie" high relief gold and brown lacquer, the decoration on the interior and base in "nashiji" gold flakes; the base with signature reading "Mushū" in black lacquer
Dimensions
tea caddy and cover: H. 6.2 x Diam. 8.4 cm (2 7/16 x 3 5/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: On the base,brush-written in black lacquer: "Mushū" [Chinese characters]
  • inscription: artist's signature, on the base of the tea caddy: brush-written in black lacquer: "Mushū"

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Yamazaki Mushū (artist), Kyoto, Japan; through Erik Thomsen LLC Asian Art, New York; to Harvard Art Museum

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Langdon Warner and H. H. F. Jayne, by exchange
Accession Year
2010
Object Number
2010.446.A-B
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
Of hexagonal form, this dry lacquer tea caddy is made entirely of lacquer applied over a cloth core, the surface imitating the color and texture of an old bronze vessel. The top and sides have minutely executed décor in takamakie high relief gold and brown lacquer representing two flowers and twelve pine needles. The inside and the bottom are decorated with nashiji gold flakes; the bottom bears the artist's signature reading Mushū and written in black lacquer. The tea caddy comes with its original kiri-wood tomobako box which is inscribed on the side: Kanshitsu chaki "Sōshun", or "Dry Lacquer Tea Caddy 'Early Spring'"; the box bears the artist's signature reading Mushū; a square, black intaglio seal reading Mu Shū immediately follows the signature.

Publication History

  • Contemporary Lacquer by Yamazaki Mushû, auct. cat., Erik Thomsen LLC Asian Art (New York, 2009), cat. 1

Exhibition History

  • Re-View: S228-230 (Asian rotation: 7) Art of the Fan: China, Korea, Japan, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 11/18/2011 - 05/05/2012

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu