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This crystal ball was believed to be the world’s largest when it arrived at the MFA in 1893. It was mined in Yamanashi, Japan, and polished by expert craftsmen in Miyamoto village. Nineteenth-century spiritualism brought an interest in divination to Boston, and in the 1880s the Parisian art dealer Tadamasa Hayashi was tasked with acquiring an outstanding crystal ball for New England capitalist Frederick Lathrop Ames’s gem and crystal collection. Later, the MFA commissioned Japan’s most celebrated metalsmith, Suzuki Chokichi, to create the dynamic sculptural base. As crystal balls were associated with dragons chasing light from the depths of the sea, the base features a surging ocean wave and the twisting body of a dragon. As you look into the ball you will see the world turned upside-down. By gazing into the clear crystal orb, readers searched for guidance into the unknown future.
Stand in form of waves
Suzuki Chôkichi (Japanese, 1848–1919)
Japanese
Meiji era
about 1900-1903
Medium/Technique
Silver
Dimensions
Overall: 41 cm (16 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Julia Bradford Huntington James Fund
Accession Number03.1880
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsMetalwork
This crystal ball was believed to be the world’s largest when it arrived at the MFA in 1893. It was mined in Yamanashi, Japan, and polished by expert craftsmen in Miyamoto village. Nineteenth-century spiritualism brought an interest in divination to Boston, and in the 1880s the Parisian art dealer Tadamasa Hayashi was tasked with acquiring an outstanding crystal ball for New England capitalist Frederick Lathrop Ames’s gem and crystal collection. Later, the MFA commissioned Japan’s most celebrated metalsmith, Suzuki Chokichi, to create the dynamic sculptural base. As crystal balls were associated with dragons chasing light from the depths of the sea, the base features a surging ocean wave and the twisting body of a dragon. As you look into the ball you will see the world turned upside-down. By gazing into the clear crystal orb, readers searched for guidance into the unknown future.
Signed
Dai Nihon Tôkyô teishitsu geigeiin Suzuki Kakô, (Great Japan, Tokyo, Suzuki Kakô, Artist to the Imperial Household) with a cursive monogram (kaô)
大日本東京帝室技芸員鈴木嘉幸（花押）
大日本東京帝室技芸員鈴木嘉幸（花押）
ProvenanceBetween 1892 and 1903, commissioned from the artist by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, for the display of crystal sphere 93.1476; January 29, 1903, purchased from Yamanaka & Co., Boston, by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (Accession Date: January 29, 1903)