c. 1870
4 x 3.5 x 4 cm (1 9/16 x 1 3/8 x 1 9/16 in.)
Walter P. Gunn, Jr. family, gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 1997
White stoneware with clear glaze
8th-9th centuryChineseSilver
17th centuryDutch?Iron or bronze with decoration applied in gold; with small cartouche on the cover reading "Kingakuji" and a maker's mark in gold on the base; the interior of box and cover lined with sheet gold, the linings cursorily engraved with landscapes
19th-20th centuryJapaneseInlaid celadon ware: light gray stoneware with celadon glaze over incised decoration partially inlaid in black and white slips
12th centuryKoreanPale greenish white nephrite
18th centuryChineseLacquer on wood with decoration in sabi urushi (thick lacquer paste) and gold utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design) technique and with appliqués of lead foil and raden (mother-of-pearl) inlays; stone and copper fittings
16th-17th centuryJapaneseEnameled blue-and-white ware, "wucai" type: porcelain with decoration painted in underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze polychrome enamels; with underglaze cobalt-blue mark reading "Da Ming Longqing nian zao" within a double circle on the base
16th centuryChineseLacquer on wood with decoration in gold, silver, and sabi urushi (thick lacquer paste) utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design), takamaki-e (high-relief sprinkled design), and nashiji ("pear-skinned" ground) techniques, with applied kirigane (cut gold and silver) and originally with inlays [now lost]; stone and metal fittings
16th-17th centuryJapaneseBronze, with damascened overlays of cut sheet silver, the bronze with induced gunmetal gray surface color
19th-20th centuryKoreanLacquer on wood with decoration in gold and silver utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design), takamaki-e (high-relief sprinkled design), nashiji ("pear-skinned" ground), and harigaki (linear incising) techniques, and with applied kirigane (cut gold and silver) and shibuchi (copper-silver alloy); metal fittings
17th-18th centuryJapaneseCeramic
19th centuryEuropeanLacquer on wood with decoration in zonsei-nuri (incised and painted lacquer) and gold utilizing the togidashi maki-e (sprinkled design revealed by polishing) technique; silk cord
18th centuryJapanese