Symbol and Substance : The Elaine Ehrenkranz Collection of Japanese Lacquer Boxes

Host institution

Elvehjem Museum of Art

Organizer

Harvard University. Art Museums

Date

• September 1, 2001-November 11, 2001

Summary

• Description from the Elvehjem bulletin/biennial report 2001–2003: "Featuring fifty-six Japanese lacquer boxes from the Muromachi through Edo periods (mid fourteenth through mid nineteenth centuries), this exhibition examined the beauty and symbolism of the lacquer medium, as well as the planning, labor, and artistry that determined the construction and elaborate decoration of these boxes. Lacquer was used to decorate prized accessories such as utensils for incense burning, carriers for food and medicine, and boxes for documents. A painstaking and complex artistic process, the art of lacquer production results in richly colored, intricate designs." [p. 96]