Hanging Bookcase
furniture maker
Unknown
Datelate 19th century - early 20th century
Place MadeChina, East Asia
MediumLacquer
Dimensions89.85 x 44.45 x 13.97 cm (35 3/8 x 17 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberF33e16
eMuseum ID720784
EmbARK ObjectID34957
TMS Source ID18379
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis 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.
BibliographyNotesKaeley Ferguson, "The Conservation of a Japanned Bookcase," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 22 September 2020, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/conservation-japanned-bookcase
ProvenanceNotesGift from the architect Edwin Sherrill Dodge (1874-1938) to Isabella Stewart Gardner, before 1919.
