Meiji Period Satsuma Patch Box

About the Item

This small detailed work made between 1890 and 1900 is skillfully painted representing a court lady in regal costumes being attended to by a small child carrying a bolt of silk cloth. This centered in a medallion where the raised decoration is heavily embellished with gold and patterned details. The round outer area is done in a cobalt blue with more goldwork designs and the interior of the box holds small painted objects as symbols of refinement and or beauty. The box is signed by the painter's hand but as yet we have not translated or matched it to a specific maker's work. Wares of this type are most often produced in the city of Kagoshima in Kyushu province during the Meiji period and reflects the export industry designed to cater to western tastes but not particularly bought by Japanese citizens. Patch boxes themselves became fashionable in the 17th and 18th centuries to store patches or beauty marks. These items made of gummed taffeta or some other fabric were used to conceal flaws such as pock marks or blemishes. They were also used to draw attention to specific details of one's face such as dimples. Patches came in a variety of sizes and specific shapes starting from a small dot and then moving on to stars, crescent moons, birds in flight, etc. They mostly could be found in black or brown but also came in brilliant colors. A further function was to make allusion to emotional states or conceived attributes a wearer wanted to express and a bewildering number of meanings could be associated with the location and specific shape a wearer choose that day. By 1796 the fashion for patches began to diminish with the introduction of the smallpox vaccination. In the later 19th century and into the early 20th century patches became a popular addition again to a woman's beauty products and so a resurgence of making boxes became popular. Some slight wear to the gilding.

Dimensions:

Height: 1 in (2.54 cm)Diameter: 2.75 in (6.99 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Ceramic

Place of Origin:

Japan

Period:

Late 19th Century

Date of Manufacture:

1890

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.