Bento-Bako (Lunch Box)
Asian Art
On View: Decorative Art, 20th-Century Decorative Arts, 4th Floor
Across the world, modernisms evolved in distinctive ways, shaped by the social, cultural, and historical conditions of their time and place. In early twentieth-century Japan, for example, concerns about the country’s ongoing industrialization and modernization prompted a reappraisal of simple handicrafts like the bowl and lacquered bento box seen here. Led by the philosopher Soetsu Yanagi, the Mingei (or folk craft) movement shared affinities with the nineteenth-century British Arts and Crafts movement. Mingei, which continues today, was highly influential in its advocacy of humble, anonymously crafted objects made for everyday use.
Concurrently, designers such as Ubunji Kidokoro were adapting new ideas and forms using traditional materials and techniques. In 1937, as part of the Mitsukoshi department store’s efforts to promote “modern” furnishings for the home—at a time when sitting in Japanese domestic interiors was mostly done on tatami (woven rush) mats—Kidokoro presented a cantilevered bamboo chair. It was possibly modeled on the Finnish designer Alvar Aalto’s Model 31 Chair (seen nearby). Later, Sori Yanagi, the son of Soetsu Yanagi, combined industrial production with Mingei aesthetic principles in designs like the Butterfly Stool, now one of the most recognizable examples of mid-twentieth-century Japanese design.
Concurrently, designers such as Ubunji Kidokoro were adapting new ideas and forms using traditional materials and techniques. In 1937, as part of the Mitsukoshi department store’s efforts to promote “modern” furnishings for the home—at a time when sitting in Japanese domestic interiors was mostly done on tatami (woven rush) mats—Kidokoro presented a cantilevered bamboo chair. It was possibly modeled on the Finnish designer Alvar Aalto’s Model 31 Chair (seen nearby). Later, Sori Yanagi, the son of Soetsu Yanagi, combined industrial production with Mingei aesthetic principles in designs like the Butterfly Stool, now one of the most recognizable examples of mid-twentieth-century Japanese design.
MEDIUM
Wood box with reddish brown and black lacquer
DATES
1898
PERIOD
Meiji Period
DIMENSIONS
5 3/16 x 4 x 7 3/4 in. (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
1993.194.7a-c
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. John P. Lyden
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is on view in Decorative Art, 20th-Century Decorative Arts, 4th Floor
CAPTION
Bento-Bako (Lunch Box), 1898. Wood box with reddish brown and black lacquer, 5 3/16 x 4 x 7 3/4 in. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. John P. Lyden, 1993.194.7a-c. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.1993.194.7a-c.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, CUR.1993.194.7a-c.jpg., 2019
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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