Japan: Courts and Culture: The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace

This exhibition is in the past. View our current exhibitions.
JAPAN

Writing desk (bundai)

early twentieth century

Gold lacquer and silvered metal on wood | 12.2 x 60.5 x 36.1 cm (whole object) | RCIN 7121

Poetry and religious texts played an important role in courtly life, necessitating high-quality equipment for calligraphy. The swooping plovers on this writing table symbolise long life, because their cry sounds like chiyo, which means ‘1000 generations’.
    PreviousNext
    PreviousNext

    Quick Links

    Official Royal Residences

    Royal Collection Trust is a charity caring for the Royal Collection, one of the world’s great art collections. Income from your visit helps us to conserve and share the Collection so that it can be enjoyed by everyone, wherever they are.