August 2020

Offering Stand, Okinawa

This offering stand from the Okinawa Islands of Japan comes from the Ruyuku Kingdom (1429–1879), which controlled an extensive maritime trade network and played a key role in the cultural and economic exchange between China and Japan at a critical point in the histories of all three civilizations. Among the greatest treasures of the museum’s collection is a gold and red lacquer offering stand, made in the 17th to 18th century for the Ryukyu court and decorated with the crest of the royal family – it is one of only three to survive and is now held in the collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art in Hawaii.