Before the First Brushstroke: Ten Japanese Lacquer Writing Boxes
Culture & Life · The Art of Preparation Before the First Brushstroke: Ten Japanese Lacquer Writing Boxes Tools for ink. Surfaces of gold and shell. A small world assembled before writing begins. NEWJINMEDIA · November 6, 2026 · Collection study Writing Box with Woodcutter, in the style of Hon’ami Kōetsu, eighteenth or early nineteenth century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929. Object and public-domain image . Open Access / CC0 . Use / Material / Literature / Looking closely Explore ten Japanese lacquer writing boxes through their tools, gold decoration, shell inlay, literary images and carefully arranged surfaces. A woodcutter bends under a bundle of branches. A pale praying mantis stands against dark cedar. On another lid, a robe hangs over a rack, its surface crowded with demons. These scenes belong to objects made for writing: Japanese lacquer boxes that bring a landscape, ...