Description
This depiction of a tortoise serenely swimming away, against a background of craggy mountains, derives from early Chinese beliefs concerning Mount Penglai (J., Hôrai), a land of immortality and eternal youth where the immortals dwell. Both the design and form of this inkstone box suggest an archaizing style, straightforward in expression. These qualities contribute to the old-fashioned elegance of this superb piece.
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
September 14, 2026