Join us from 6 – 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 16^th to celebrate the opening of the new exhibition Gifts of Gold: The Art of Japanese Lacquer Boxes which will be on view in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries from January 17 – May 15, 2020. Refreshments will be provided, accompanied by live music. The reception is free and open to the public. Register on our Eventbrite.

To register for the opening lecture at 5 p.m. please click here.

Gifts of Gold: The Art of Japanese Lacquer Boxes will introduce viewers to the medium, functions, decorative techniques, and symbolic associations of Japanese lacquer by presenting approximately twenty exquisite works ranging from the 15^th through the 21^st centuries, complemented by a few select paintings. The exhibition will consist of four groupings with the following themes: 1) forms in black and red 2) seasonal and auspicious motifs 3) poetic and literary associations 4) materials and techniques. Objects in the exhibition are drawn from institutional and private collections, as well as featuring a 19^th century writing box recently acquired by the Fairfield University Art Museum.

Image: Trousseau Box, Edo period (1615-1868), mid to late 17^th century, black lacquer ground on wood with decoration in gold. On loan from Yale University Art Gallery (Gift of Peggy and Richard M. Danziger, LL.B. 1963, 2001.80.1)