Kuruma-Dansu (Chest of Drawers)
Asian Art
Japanese merchants considered the easily moveable kuruma dansu, which kept valuables and merchandise in order the storehouse, an essential possession. The chests were often included as part of a daughter's dowry. The kuruma dansu displayed here, crafted in Yamagata Prefecture, is of exceptionally high quality. The frame and door panels are zelkova wood, the finest wood used in Japanese furniture construction. The entire chest is finished in a kijiri lacquer to accentuate the wood's naturally elegant grain.
MEDIUM
Zelkova (keyaki) and cryptomeria (sugi) wood with iron fittings
DATES
late 19th–early 20th century
PERIOD
Meiji Period
DIMENSIONS
37 1/8 x 44 1/8 x 21 3/8 in. (94.3 x 112.1 x 54.3 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
75.126
CREDIT LINE
Designated Purchase Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Large wood chest on four on four wood wheels. Enclosed on three sides with two sliding door panels on the front. Top surface consists of several panels. Decoration consists of horizontal wood slats applied to surface of all four sides, and door panels. Iron joint fittings and lock are made in Yonezawa/Yamagata style.
Condition: very good. Small surface scratches and wear on top. Part of all of wood door panels may be replacements.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Kuruma-Dansu (Chest of Drawers), late 19th–early 20th century. Zelkova (keyaki) and cryptomeria (sugi) wood with iron fittings, 37 1/8 x 44 1/8 x 21 3/8 in. (94.3 x 112.1 x 54.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 75.126. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 75.126_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 75.126_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
