A sunken box is a box meant to contain sunken incense. The exterior is coated in black lacquer, with a gold leaf design of a cedar bark and a peony pattern. The style of drawing peonies is relatively old, but the technique of the gold leaf design resembles the characteristics of the high temple Tanba period's Byodo-in gold leaf paintings.
沈箱とは沈香を収める箱の意味で、香木をしまっておくための箱。表面は全体を黒漆塗として、金の平(ひら)蒔絵に絵梨子地(えなしじ)をまじえて、檜垣と菊枝の文様を表わしている。菊枝の描き方は比較的に古様だが、蒔絵の技法は桃山期に流行したいわゆる高台寺蒔絵の特徴を示している。
View the original at Japan Search →A statute built to coax privately held work onto public walls. An owner registers a piece with the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, then contracts with a museum to display it. Article 2 defines a work of art broadly, as paintings, sculpture, crafts and other tangible cultural products that are movable, which is the legal way of saying anything you could carry out of the house.
The cool part. The terms are the interesting part. Article 2 requires the public display contract to run for five years or more, and to contain a clause stating that the parties may not give notice of cancellation. You cannot lend a masterpiece for the tax treatment and then reclaim it when the market turns. Japan concluded the barrier to seeing art was never storage. It was ownership, and the fix was a contract you cannot walk out of.
Verify at e-Gov 法令検索 →Use it A motif small enough to blind-deboss, which is where restraint actually shows.
Description source: museum curator text, translated — not generated