Japanese
Three-Tiered Lunch Box (Bento-bako), late 19th century - early 20th century
Lacquered cedar
This Japanese bento box, or lunch box, has three stacked sections covered in shiny red lacquer. The box has a larger lower rectangular box and two smaller similarly sized rectangular containers on top of it. The larger box holds two small ceramic tea bowls. The background glaze on these bowls is beige with dapples and irregularities of dark brown glaze. The botanical design on each cup is different although both are done in dark blue and black glazes. One bowl has a series of six petaled daisy-like flowers with yellow centers. The other has evergreen branches with needles. The whole red lunch box slides into a brown stained wood case with a bottom pull-out drawer. The case is open on one side and has a small metal handle and latch on the top. It is unpainted, so the wood grain is visible, but finished in lacquer to make it shiny. On the outer edges, the finish and stain are chipped.
Close
Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), pp. 35-36, 393, 410-11, 415, 418, fig. 2. (as Japanese, as dated late 19th century or early 20th century)
Object details
Accession number
CR34n29.a-d
Primary Creator
Japanese
Full title
Three-Tiered Lunch Box (Bento-bako)
Creation Date
late 19th century - early 20th century
Provenance
Gift from Okakura Kakuzo (1862-1913), Japanese art historian and philosopher, to Denman Waldo Ross (1853-1935), art collector and design theorist, 1908.
Gift from Denman Ross to Isabella Stewart Gardner, 27 August 1916.
Display Media
Lacquered cedar
Web Commentary
Okakura Kakuzō (1862-1913) gave this lunch box to his friend Denman Waldo Ross (1853-1935) in 1908 when they were traveling together in Japan. Ross knew that Okakura and Isabella Stewart Gardner were close friends and so, after Okakura’s death, Ross gave the lunch box to Gardner in 1916.
Permanent Gallery Location
Chinese Room
Bibliography
William Thrasher and Caroline Graboys. "The Beginnings of Chanoyu in America." Chanoyu Quarterly (1984), pp. 32-33. (as Japanese)Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), pp. 35-36, 393, 410-11, 415, 418, fig. 2. (as Japanese, as dated late 19th century or early 20th century)
Rights and reproductions
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Chinese Room
Commentary
Okakura Kakuzō (1862-1913) gave this lunch box to his friend Denman Waldo Ross (1853-1935) in 1908 when they were traveling together in Japan. Ross knew that Okakura and Isabella Stewart Gardner were close friends and so, after Okakura’s death, Ross gave the lunch box to Gardner in 1916.