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Akatsuka Jitoku (1871-1936)

Imperial presentation box and cover   c.1900-7

Black and gold lacquer, and mother of pearl on wood | 13.1 x 21.4 x 26.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 29465

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  • Rectangular box, the inset rim fitted with a silver band, the shallow cover similarly fitted, flat-topped and rounded towards the edge.

    The large gold chrysanthemum crest (kikumon) on the cover of this box identifies it as an imperial gift. Although unsigned, the piece can confidently be attributed to Akatsuka Jitoku. The box bears all the hallmarks of his bolder and proto-modernist work: an exuberant design spilling over onto the sides of the box, a botanical subject, rich nashiji ground and shell inlay. Here, sagittaria plants grow by a meandering stream, their blooms inlaid with mother-of-pearl and with gold-spotted centres. The bronze-coloured stems and leaves appear in takamakie (lacquer in high relief). The stylised stream recalls the abstract wave patterns of the Rinpa school of painting associated with Hon’ami Kōetsu (1558–1637), whose revival influenced lacquer artists in the early twentieth century. An almost identical piece, signed by Jitoku, is in the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

    This box is typical of the high quality pieces selected as Meiji imperial gifts: of rectangular form, with rounded corners and a bold design. It was presented to Queen Mary when Princess of Wales by Prince Fushimi Sadanaru, who visited Britain in 1907 to convey the Emperor Meiji’s thanks for the Order of the Garter. In 1915, the queen loaned the box to an exhibition of ‘Japanese Works of Art and Handicraft from English Collections’, which was held in aid of the British Red Cross Society at the Yamanaka Galleries on New Bond Street. Queen Mary visited the exhibition on 19 October and her mother-in-law, Queen Alexandra, attended on 15 November.

    Text adapted from Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen: Volume III and Japan: Courts and Culture (2020)

    Provenance

    Presented to Queen Mary when Princess of Wales by Prince Fushimi Sadanaru, 1907.

    Lent by Queen Mary to the 1915 Loan Exhibition of Japanese Works of Arts and Handicraft from English Collections, 14 October-13 November, which was held in aid of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of

  • Medium and techniques

    Black and gold lacquer, and mother of pearl on wood

    Measurements

    13.1 x 21.4 x 26.0 cm (whole object)

  • Place of Production

    Japan


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