Object details
Accession number
F33e16
Primary Creator
Chinese
Full title
Hanging Bookcase
Creation Date
late 19th century - early 20th century
Provenance
Gift from the architect Edwin Sherrill Dodge (1874-1938) to Isabella Stewart Gardner, before 1919.
Dimensions
89.85 x 44.45 x 13.97 cm (35 3/8 x 17 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.)
Display Media
Lacquer
Web Commentary
This hanging bookcase was a gift from the American architect, Edwin Sherrill Dodge (1874–1938), to Isabella Stewart Gardner in the early 20th century. It is notable for its japanned finish, a European finishing technique created to imitate East Asian lacquer. Lacquerware from East Asia became popular in Europe during the 17th century. It is created by treating, dying, and drying sap from the highly toxic Toxicodendron vernicifluum tree, a type of poison oak native to East Asia. Almost as soon as it was first imported, European craftsmen began experimenting with different finishes in hopes of reproducing the lacquer. Imitation techniques like the one used on this bookcase would soon become known as “japanning,” which simply uses many coats of highly-polished varnish.
Permanent Gallery Location
Vatichino
Rights and reproductions
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