Tebako (cosmetic box) with design of Urashima

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Tebako (cosmetic box) with design of Urashima

Date14th century

Maker Japanese

Label TextLikely part of a dowry for a noblewoman, this box was used to hold cosmetic utensils and other small items such as incense, a small writing box, and paper. Gold leaves in a tortoise-shell pattern decorate the exterior. The inner side of the lid illustrates the story of Urashima, a fisherman who saved a dying tortoise, which turned out to be the Dragon King’s daughter. Urashima is depicted on an island of pine trees encircled by cranes, and the tortoise with an islet on its back is in the background—all auspicious symbols representing longevity.

Object number51.78

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Japanese Art In The Seattle Art Museum, 1960. Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland Museum of Art, Japanese Decorative Style, 1961 (Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1961). Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, A Thousand Cranes: Treasures of Japanese Art, Feb. 5 - Jul. 12, 1987. Kyoto, Japan, Kyoto National Museum, Art of the Court, Apr. 12 - May 15, 1994. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Flights of Fancy: Natural and Supernatural Images In Japanese Art, Dec. 9, 1998 - Aug. 1, 1999. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Masterpieces of Japanese Art from the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum, Nov. 1, 1998 - Mar. 1, 1999. Tokyo, Japan, Suntory Museum of Art, Luminous Jewels: Masterpieces of Asian Art From the Seattle Art Museum, July 25 - Sept. 6, 2009 (Kobe, Japan, Kobe City Museum, Sept. 19 - Dec. 6, 2009; Kofu, Japan, Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, Dec. 23, 2009 - Feb. 28, 2010; Atami, Japan, MOA Museum of Art, Mar. 13 - May 9, 2010; Fukuoka, Japan, Fukuoka Art Museum, May 23 - July 19, 2010). Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Luminous: The Art of Asia, Oct. 13, 2011 - Jan. 8, 2012. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Legends, Tales, Poetry: Visual Narrative in Japanese Art, Dec. 22, 2012 - July 21, 2013 Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Noble Splendor: Art of Japanese Aristocrats, Jul. 28, 2018 - Mar. 3, 2019. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.Published References"Handbook, Seattle Art Museum: Selected Works from the Permanent Collections." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, p. 89 (b&w) Fuller, Richard E. "Japanese Art in the Seattle Art Museum: An Historical Sketch." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1960 ("Presented in commemoration of the Hundredth Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and the United States of America"), no. 46 Thomas, Edward B. "Oriental Art in the Seattle Art Museum," in Art in America, no. 1, 1965, illus. p. 60 "Selected Works." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1991, p. 187 Knight, Michael, "East Asian Lacquers in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1992, no. 13, pp. 18-20 Kawai, Masatomo, Yasuhiro Nishioka, Yukiko Sirahara, editors. "Luminous Jewels: Masterpieces of Asian Art From the Seattle Art Museum". The Yomiuri Shimbun, 2009, catalogue number 10 Kobe City Museum 40th Anniversary Special Exhibition: An Invitation to a Revival of Kawasaki Art Museum - Japanese and Oriental Art Collected and Bequeathed by Kawasaki Shozo, Kobe City Museum, 2022: reproduced pp. 331, b&w.

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Donald E. Frederick

Dimensions6 1/4 x 11 1/2 x 9 5/8 in. (15.9 x 29.2 x 24.5 cm)

MediumLacquer, wood, gold, gilt bronze, tin