# Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Phoenix in Paulownia

- Date: late 1500s
- Medium: Lacquer on wood with sprinkled gold and silver powder (maki-e) and gold and silver foil application
- Classification: Lacquer
- Dimensions: 4 x 20.5 x 23.5 cm (1 9/16 x 8 1/16 x 9 1/4 in.)
- Culture: Japan, Momoyama period (1573–1615)
- Credit line: Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/2016.34)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2016.34/2016.34_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The only place the mythical phoenix will perch is in the paulownia tree. Along with the dragon, the bird is a symbol of imperial power in East Asia. This box––a container for an inkstone, brushes, and ink––is both functional and lavish, its dramatic effects achieved with a pear-skin ground decoration (nashiji) and sprinkled powder decoration in high relief (takamaki-e).