This box, created by the master craftsman Barthélemy Pavier in the mid-18th century, is an example of the fusion of Japanese and French art. Originally made in Japan in the mid-18th century, this box was designed to hold incense. The ornate lacquer surface features young pine trees on the outside of the lid and an uninterrupted seashore on the sides.
These boxes were often exported to Europe via Holland or China. This export route is similar to that of other Japanese lacquerware, including some owned by Queen Marie Antoinette.
Once in Paris, Barthélemy Pavier transformed the box, adding a gilded frame around the edges. The interior was lined with metal sheeting to imitate the shine of gold, adding to the luxurious effect.
Until 1968, the piece was owned by SJ Phillips Ltd. It was later acquired by Jane Kirkman Wrightsman, an American philanthropist, art collector, and widow of Charles B. Wrightsman. Since 2019, the box has been housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The box is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art Collection, which spans nearly 5,000 years of history, more than twenty modern nations, and a vast region from Afghanistan to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
The Asian Art Collection, with more than 35,000 objects dating from the third millennium BCE to the twenty-first century, is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.
metmuseum.org
The Japanese Box Transformed by Barthélemy Pavier is an example of the cultural exchange between Japan and France during the Edo period. Its design and decoration transform a functional object into a work of art.
Source: metmuseum.org
