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Source Description
Low writing tables like this one were developed for use by those seated on the floor. They often had matching writing boxes. The table features the classic design of pine, bamboo, and plum, known together as the Three Friends of Winter. Indicating resilience in the face of harsh conditions, pine is evergreen, bamboo bends but does not break, and plum is the first flower to bloom in early spring. The plants are a metaphor for strength of character.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
135433
label
Writing Table with Pine, Bamboo, and Plum
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
135433
contentType
object
title
Writing Table with Pine, Bamboo, and Plum
description
Low writing tables like this one were developed for use by those seated on the floor. They often had matching writing boxes. The table features the classic design of pine, bamboo, and plum, known together as the Three Friends of Winter. Indicating resilience in the face of harsh conditions, pine is evergreen, bamboo bends but does not break, and plum is the first flower to bloom in early spring. The plants are a metaphor for strength of character.
date
1400s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80028677
genreSpecific
Lacquer
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
height: 10.2 cm (4 in.); width: 58.4 cm (23 in.); depth: 36.9 cm (14 1/2 in.)
cul
Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573)
accession
1958.429
Source extras
tec
Lacquered wood with gold and silver sprinkled powder (maki-e) and metal fittings
tombstone
Writing Table with Pine, Bamboo, and Plum (松竹梅文蒔絵文台), 1400s. Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573). Lacquered wood with gold and silver sprinkled powder (maki-e) and metal fittings; height: 10.2 cm (4 in.); width: 58.4 cm (23 in.); depth: 36.9 cm (14 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Edward L. Whittemore Fund, 1958.429
titleInOriginalLanguage
松竹梅文蒔絵文台
collection
Japanese Art
didYouKnow
The trunks of the pine and plum are visible through the silver slopes of the ground plain.
citations
citation
Yoshino, Tomio 吉野, 富雄. <em>Jidai Makie Kyushitsu Shusei </em>. Tokyo: Saikwasha, 1934–43.
citation
Lee, Sherman. E. “Year in Review.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 46, no. 10 (December 1959): 210–231.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 217; Mentioned: p. 230
citation
Lee, Sherman E. <em>Japanese Decorative Style</em>. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1961.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 44–45
citation
Lee, Sherman E. <em>A History of Far Eastern Art</em>. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1964.
page_number
p. 376
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 280
citation
Feldman, Edmund Burke. <em>Art as Image and Idea</em>. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1967.
page_number
p. 265
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 280
citation
Alscher, Ludger, ed. <em>Lexikon Der Kunst. Architektur, Bildende Kunst, Angewandte Kunst, Industrieformgestaltung, Kunsttheorie</em>. Leipzig: Seemann, 1976.
page_number
p. 839
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 379
creditline
Edward L. Whittemore Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:55:12.515000
sourceId
135433
dept
Japanese Art
coll
Japanese Art
med
Lacquered wood with gold and silver sprinkled powder (maki-e) and metal fittings
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
c5b5e08832175c19