Ask the Scholar

Page 1 of 1
I can add historical knowledge about this page.

Page image

Page 1

Document source description

Writing boxes were indispensible personal possessions for the literate of medieval Japan. Beyond containing the tools for artistic expression and communication such as an ink stone, writing brushes, and a water dropper, writing boxes often featured scenes from classical literature or symbolic motifs rendered in a wide array of complex lacquer techniques.

Page data

Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
2d55938dae5f4de2
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
144288
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "144288",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Design of Pine, Camellia, and Bamboo (base)",
    "description": "Writing boxes were indispensible personal possessions for the literate of medieval Japan. Beyond containing the tools for artistic expression and communication such as an ink stone, writing brushes, and a water dropper, writing boxes often featured scenes from classical literature or symbolic motifs rendered in a wide array of complex lacquer techniques.",
    "date": "1400s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.124.a",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q79921269"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Lacquer"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.124.a/1969.124.a_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.124.a/1969.124.a_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.124.a/1969.124.a_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 24.2 x 22.6 cm (9 1/2 x 8 7/8 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573)"
    ],
    "accession": "1969.124.a"
}

Context sent to Scholar

Document identity
{
    "localId": "144288",
    "label": "Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Design of Pine, Camellia, and Bamboo (base)",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "144288",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Design of Pine, Camellia, and Bamboo (base)",
    "description": "Writing boxes were indispensible personal possessions for the literate of medieval Japan. Beyond containing the tools for artistic expression and communication such as an ink stone, writing brushes, and a water dropper, writing boxes often featured scenes from classical literature or symbolic motifs rendered in a wide array of complex lacquer techniques.",
    "date": "1400s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.124.a",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q79921269"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Lacquer"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.124.a/1969.124.a_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.124.a/1969.124.a_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.124.a/1969.124.a_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 24.2 x 22.6 cm (9 1/2 x 8 7/8 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573)"
    ],
    "accession": "1969.124.a"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "Lacquered wood with gold and silver sprinkled powder (maki-e), stone, and metal",
    "tombstone": "Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Design of Pine, Camellia, and Bamboo (base) (松椿竹蒔絵硯箱), 1400s. Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573). Lacquered wood with gold and silver sprinkled powder (maki-e), stone, and metal; overall: 24.2 x 22.6 cm (9 1/2 x 8 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1969.124.a",
    "titleInOriginalLanguage": "松椿竹蒔絵硯箱",
    "collection": "Japanese Art",
    "didYouKnow": "The metal water dropper inside the box above the ink stone also has pine and camellia motifs.",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "“Art of Asia Recently Acquired by American Museums, 1969.” <em>Archives of Asian Art</em> 24 (1970): 86–117.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned: p. 107",
            "url": "http://www.jstor.org/stable/20111025"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1969.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 57, no. 1 (January 1970): 2–51.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned: p. 51, no. 238",
            "url": "https://www.jstor.org/stable/25152307"
        },
        {
            "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. 378",
            "url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n398"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.124.a",
    "creditline": "John L. Severance Fund",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 07:24:21.901000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.124.a/1969.124.a_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 144288,
    "dept": "Japanese Art",
    "coll": "Japanese Art",
    "med": "Lacquered wood with gold and silver sprinkled powder (maki-e), stone, and metal",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.124.a/1969.124.a_web.jpg",
    "mediaId": "2d55938dae5f4de2"
}