Chest of Drawers
1 of 4
Object Label
Although a Western form, this chest of drawers is decorated with Asian materials, bamboo and cane. At the 1876 Centennial exhibition in Philadelphia, Japan showed furniture made of these materials, and American merchants subsequently imported or made here in Brooklyn, but it is evocative indicator of the appeal of Japanism to the American market and the melding of Western and Eastern cultures.
Caption
Nimura & Sato Company (late 1880s–1890s). Chest of Drawers, ca. 1905–1915. Woven cane, bamboo, brass, mirror, 78 x 37 1/2 x 18 in. (198.1 x 95.3 x 45.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Herbert Hemphill, 68.47.1. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Title
Chest of Drawers
Date
ca. 1905–1915
Geography
Possible place made: Japan, Place retailed: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Medium
Woven cane, bamboo, brass, mirror
Classification
Dimensions
78 x 37 1/2 x 18 in. (198.1 x 95.3 x 45.7 cm)
Signatures
no signature
Inscriptions
no inscriptions
Markings
Printed cardboard label nailed to back: "NIMURA & SATO CO., / Japanese Bamboo Works, / Parlor, Bed Room and Hall Sets / All kinds of Fancy Works made to order, and / Japanese Crockery and Fancy Goods / Everything Guaranteed to be First Class and of the latest style / at Lowest Price, / No. 707 Fulton Street / Brooklyn, N.Y."
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Hemphill
Accession Number
68.47.1
Frequent Art Questions
What can you tell me about this chest?
That's a really interesting room, in general. It shows the ways that so many American artists and craftsmen were influenced by foreign cultures in their work at the turn of the last century.The overall shape/form of this chest of drawers is European, but the materials are Asian-inspired: bamboo and woven cane. Americans had a particular interest in Japan in the later 1800s, after the US reopened trade with Japan in the 1850s and Japanese goods were imported in large quantities. You might also notice Asian influences in other objects in that gallery, like the folding mirror in a case to the left and the porcelain dishes nearby.Are the prints original to this chest? They look added later, and are quite beautiful.
Originally there were different prints in this chest but they have been replaced. What you see there are modern reproductions of Japanese prints in our Asian Art collection here at the Museum.Thanks so much!Of course!
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