A Japanese lacquered document box
Japan, Meiji-period (19th century)
H. 12 x W. 44 x D. 25.5 cm
A rectangular document box, the lid decorated in gold hiramaki-e (low-relief lacquer) and takamaki-e (high-relief lacquer), with inlays of ivory and mother-of-pearl. The scene depicts two gentlemen seated on planks rendered in mokume (wood grain imitation) beneath three flowering cherry trees, between which a curtain is stretched. The sides are adorned with blossoming branches and a phoenix, the decoration continuing seamlessly onto the lid.
The interior is finished in nashiji (gold-powder lacquer), the inside of the lid further embellished with the image of two setting suns — a motif repeated upon the stretched curtain.
H. 12 x W. 44 x D. 25.5 cm
A rectangular document box, the lid decorated in gold hiramaki-e (low-relief lacquer) and takamaki-e (high-relief lacquer), with inlays of ivory and mother-of-pearl. The scene depicts two gentlemen seated on planks rendered in mokume (wood grain imitation) beneath three flowering cherry trees, between which a curtain is stretched. The sides are adorned with blossoming branches and a phoenix, the decoration continuing seamlessly onto the lid.
The interior is finished in nashiji (gold-powder lacquer), the inside of the lid further embellished with the image of two setting suns — a motif repeated upon the stretched curtain.
Part of the Japan collection.
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