A Rare Mother-of-Pearl Inlaid Lacquer 'Squirrels and Grapes' Box and Cover Ryukyu Kingdom, 17th Century

of rectangular form supported on a flanged base carved at the foot with a recessed shaped panel on each side, the cover modelled with an undulating rim delicately outlined in red lacquer, inlaid overall on a brown lacquered ground with slightly raised sections of mother-of-pearl and thin gold leaves, the cover with three squirrels clambering on vines, the clusters of grapes inlaid in mother-of-pearl, the branches and leaves in gold, all finely picked out with incised or brown-lacquered details, the sides of the cover and the sides of the box similarly decorated with squirrels and vines, the interior lacquered in black

Mother-of-Pearl Inlaid Lacquer of the Ryukyu Kingdom
Mr. Taishu Komatsu
Director, Akita Senshu Museum of Art

The Ryukyu Kingdom governed the Ryukyu Islands which included the Amami Islands, the Okinawa Islands and the Sakishima Islands. At the beginning of the 15th century, the first Sho clan seized the throne. It was passed on to the second Sho clan in 1470, but in 1609, the Shimazu clan invaded and introduced the Japanese feudal system of the shogunate. After 1879, the name Ryukyu was no longer used and the islands became known as the Okinawa Prefecture. As the Ryukyu Kingdom was located in the centre of the East Asian trading zone with Japan to the north, China and Korea to the west and other South East Asian lands to the south, it flourished as a stopover for trade that linked all these countries together. Consequently, while its culture was strongly influenced by China, the Ryukyu Kingdom was also influenced by diverse cultural traditions from other regions.

Lacquer art became increasingly popular between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century in the Ryukyu Kingdom. From historical and literary records of the time, it is known that lacquer wares decorated with techniques using mother-of-pearl, gold inlay, gold leaf and lacquer painting were exported in large quantities to China. Among these, mother-of-pearl was the principle technique in Ryukyu lacquer art, as demonstrated by the establishment of a government shell workshop called ‘Kaizuri Bugyo’ in the latter half of the 16th century. A large and diverse range of pieces was produced over a long period of time. This collection enables us to appreciate archetypal Ryukyu mother-of-pearl work, such as the ornament stand which displays in minute detail a consecutive pattern of interlinked flower-shaped family crests (Lot 913), or the large box and cover that displays a grape and squirrel pattern in mother-of-pearl and gold leaf, where the lid rim is skilfully cut into ripples (Lot 910), which only finds extremely rare comparatives in Museum such as the renown Mother-of-Pearl Inlaid ‘Squirrels and Grapes’ writing box preserved in the Urasoe Art Museum (fig. 1).