A small Japanese export lacquer circular box with a depiction of the Amsterdam Muiderpoort

Nagasaki, Edo period, 1st half 19th century

Of circular form decorated in gold hiramaki-e on a black-lacquered ground, the lid depicts the Muiderpoort, a city gate of Amsterdam, after an engraving by Carel Frederik Bendorp (1736-1814) made after an original work by van Jan Bulthuis (1750-1801). The sides are decorated with cherry blossoms, and the underside has sprays of autumnal plants.

Diam. 8 cm

Provenance:
Kollenburg Antiquairs, Oirschot (28 November 2006)
Collection Cornelis Pauw van Pauwvliet, Amsterdam

The Muiderpoort, which is a building of classical design, is located between the inner and outer moats of the old eastern city walls – the Singelgracht and the then Lijnbaansgracht – and is the only surviving example of the gates that initially gave access to the city of Amsterdam in the 17th and 18th centuries.