E0401: Plate

Ethnographic

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Identifier:

E0401

Classification Category:

4:Tools & Equipment for Materials ➞ Food T&E ➞ Food Service T&E

Marks/Labels:

The motifs on each plate are identical, with two peonies and one butterfly. The peony, brought to Japan from China in the 700s AD, represents wealth, good fortune, and high honour. The butterfly, also an idea derived from China, represents the souls of the living and the dead, longevity and joy. Black is the most common base color with gold, silver and red accents being the most common accent colors. There are over hundreds of techniques used to decorate top quality wood with red, gold, and silver being the most common accent colors.

Materials:

botanical ➔ wood
colorant ➔ paint ➔ lacquer
colorant ➔ paint

Dimensions:

15 cm L
1.5 cm H

Provenance of Object:

With lacquer being one of Japan’s most exported objects, it is hard to determine if these plates were bought in Japan, in Amsterdam, on of Europe’s largest lacquer trading hubs, or even in America. Due to the warping of the wood, it can be debated that these plates were part of a group of mass made plates created to sell at a local market or ship to a foreign market. Lacquerware that was produced quickly, in order to create a large profit, were of lower quality than the plates that were created slowly and carefully. . Due to the fact that these pieces were of lower quality, the area in which it was produced was probably not Kyoto or Nagasaki, the two cities best known for creating top quality lacquerware. (Hist361)

This object was held in the museum that Luther College started in 1877. This museum eventually grew into the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, and following this, non-Norwegian American ethnographic objects were returned to Luther and accessioned into the college’s Anthropology Collection. Without additional documentation, was likely obtained by the Luther College Museum (later the Norwegian-American Museum) between the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Production Date:

Based on research and comparisons of lacquer items in museums, these two lacquer plates were most likely produced in the late Edo Period (ca. AD 1800-1868) Japan. (Hist361)

Use/Function:

Since 30 is the minimum number of lacquer coats applied to wood, the scratches on the plates shows that the former owners of these plates used them for practical use as opposed to the plates being purchased for aesthetic purposes. It is more common for smaller objects, like plates, to be purchased but never used to eat off of; buyers would most likely place the plates in a display cabinet for all to see. Bigger objects, like dressers and hutches, would have been used for more practical purposes. (Hist361)

Source Locality:

Japan

Description:

Thin wooden plate with black lacquer finish. Painted in the middle is a butterfly above two flowers, four leaves and two gold cover leaves in gold, red and silver.

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