Japanese Gold-Lacquer Boxes | 13 November - 21 December 2018

We are delighted to announce our next exhibition of nearly 30 Japanese gold-lacquer boxes dating from the 18th century to the present. The exhibition starts tomorrow afternoon, Tuesday November 13, and continues through December 21. The display focuses on items suited to the cultural needs and pastimes of traditional Japan's courtly elites: suzuribako (boxes for writing utensils), natsume (caddies for powdered matcha green tea), kobako (miniature boxes for tiny slivers of imported incense wood), and tebako (ladies' accessory boxes), all of them with meticulous decoration in the full range of maki-e gold and silver lacquer techniques unique to Japan.

Adorned with designs drawn from ancient poetry and the natural world, these masterpieces of Japanese craftsmanship offer a privileged window into a refined artistic tradition that continues to thrive to the present day.