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Source Description
For many Japanese patrons, objects decorated with images of foreigners offered the rare opportunity to see westerners. The two men on the left were likely Portuguese traders, identifiable by their balloon-shaped pants. The man on the right is a Jesuit priest. Portuguese traders arrived in Japan in 1543 and soon after Christian missionaries began to create outposts there. By the early 17th century, Christianity was outlawed and the Portuguese were forced out of Japan. This object was created during the short period when the Portuguese were allowed in Japan.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
144816
label
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Europeans
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
144816
contentType
object
title
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Europeans
description
For many Japanese patrons, objects decorated with images of foreigners offered the rare opportunity to see westerners. The two men on the left were likely Portuguese traders, identifiable by their balloon-shaped pants. The man on the right is a Jesuit priest. Portuguese traders arrived in Japan in 1543 and soon after Christian missionaries began to create outposts there. By the early 17th century, Christianity was outlawed and the Portuguese were forced out of Japan. This object was created during the short period when the Portuguese were allowed in Japan.
date
1800s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79922322
genreSpecific
Lacquer
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
23 x 20.2 cm (9 1/16 x 7 15/16 in.)
accession
1969.59.a
Source extras
tec
lacquered wood with gold maki-e, silver inlay, and red lacquer on black ground
tombstone
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Europeans, 1800s. Lacquered wood with gold maki-e, silver inlay, and red lacquer on black ground; 23 x 20.2 cm (9 1/16 x 7 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund, 1969.59.a
collection
Japanese Art
creditline
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:26:26.625000
sourceId
144816
dept
Japanese Art
coll
Japanese Art
med
lacquered wood with gold maki-e, silver inlay, and red lacquer on black ground
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
0226d05cf4bc2277