Collections: Asian Art: Export Portable Desk (Barqueño)

• Download
• Add to set
• Favorite
• Posse icon
• Share
• Print

Export Portable Desk (Barqueño)

Catering to the demand for export lacquerware, the Japanese manufactured objects to Western specifications of both function and design. This lacquer cabinet is an example of a piece made in the namban style, for nambanjin, or foreigners—in this case the Portuguese. It displays a synthesis of indigenous Japanese elements of technical virtuosity together with forms adapted to the Western market and decorative motifs that are obviously non-Japanese in inspiration. When opened, it has drawers ranged around a recessed niche. The architectural motif appears to have been derived from the arch of a mihrab, the prayer niche of a mosque in the wall facing Mecca. A tree of life, painted in gold with pearl-shell inlay, meanders over the interior and exterior surfaces. These motifs can be traced to Gujarat, India, and were most likely transmitted eastward via the Portuguese trade.

• Medium: Lacquer with gold flecks, mother-of-pearl inlay, metal fittings
• Place Made: Japan
• Dates: late 16th-early 17th century
• Period: Momoyama Period
• Dimensions: H: 17 1/4 in. W; 13 3/8 in. L: 24 1/2 in.
• Collections: Asian Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Asian Galleries, The Arts of Japan, 2nd Floor
• Accession Number: 84.69.1
• Credit Line: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. John P. Lyden
• Image: Overall, 84.69.1_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Export Portable Desk (Barqueño), late 16th-early 17th century. Lacquer with gold flecks, mother-of-pearl inlay, metal fittings, H: 17 1/4 in. W; 13 3/8 in. L: 24 1/2 in. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. John P. Lyden, 84.69.1 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 84.69.1_SL1.jpg)
• Catalogue Description: Rectangular box with air on hinged doors on front and 4 tiers of drawers inside, 3 on top, 3 on bottom, 2 one above the other on either side flanking a vertical drawer in the center. Lacquer and mother-of-pearl in a black lacquer background with borders of glod-fleck lacquer. Design of folding fans and family crests on front, top, and sides, ivy on back, morning glory vines on inside of doors, flowering grasses on faces of drawers. Drawers lined with red lacquer. Condition: minor losses of lacquer and mother-of-pearl throughout.