A mother-of-pearl-inlaid lacquered 'floral' stationery box and cover, Joseon dynasty, 16th century

Christie's New York, 22nd April 1992, lot 66.

Finely inlaid with mother-of-pearl, the present box is a superb example of Joseon dynasty lacquerware. It displays the native Korean innovation of enhancing the texture of larger pieces of shell by inducing a pattern of cracks before inlay, as seen in the blossoms and leaves. James Watt suggests that this pattern of ‘accidental cracks’ is perhaps akin to the crazing on thick celadon wares (see James C.Y. Watt and Barbara Brennan Ford, East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, New York, 1991, p. 317). Such cracks may have also served to enhance the shimmering iridescence of the mother-of-pearl.  

Watt also proposes a general scheme for the development of 15th and 16th century Joseon lacquerware, whereby later examples of lacquer from this period exhibit simpler floral motifs, more geometric vines, and only one type of flower (instead of a variety of species growing from the same scroll) (see ibid., pp 308-310). The larger stylized lotus blossoms and rhythmic scrolls on the present piece suggest a 16th century attribution. 

Additionally, this box is stylistically related to a writing box that can be securely dated to the 16th century, with a comparable treatment of flowers, buds, and leaves, in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum and designated Important Cultural Property (accession no. TH298). The box and its associated lacquer writing set originally belonged to the Ouchi family, a daimyo (feudal lord) family that ruled over the western part of Honshu in Japan from the 14th to 16th centuries (see ibid., p. 310).

For further comparable pieces to the present box, compare two formerly in the collection of Florence and Herbert Irving and now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: the first, a stationery box without an aproned base and with a slightly more naturalistic floral scroll attributed to the 15th-16th century (accession no. 2015.500.3.1a, b), illustrated in ibid., cat. no. 154; the second, a square box with very similar scroll design, albeit of peonies and without the ‘cracked’ inlay (accession no. 2015.500.3.2a, b). Additionally, see three boxes from the collection of Sakamoto Gorō, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 27th May 2014, lots 901, 902, and 904.