Chest with Legs with a design of a cockfight and other entertainments

Data

Explanation

This chest, made of boards cut from a single sheet of camphor wood, has paintings on four sides. The picture of a cock fight and spectators decorates the front of the chest and a scene of a juggler and onlookers are painted on the back. These pictures were sketched directly on the chest with black lines then were painted in white, red and green pigments before being coated with oil. Since figures shown on the chest are wearing Chinese outfits, it is likely that the artist imitated an example brought from China. This is one of the rare paintings from the early Heian period, thus valuable.