Cord Furniture

A highly important Japanese export lacquer cabinet with depiction of the Dutch East India Company tradepost Deshima and the annual Dutch delegation on its way to the Shogun in Edo Edo period, circa 1660-1680 H. 88 x W. 100.5 x D. 54 cm This cabinet includes a later European japanned stand, but also a modern powder-coated steel frame. The latter can be designed and added to your specific needs. The sides and front of the rectangular two-door cabinet are embellished in gold and silver hiramaki-e and takamaki-e on a black roiro lacquer ground with a continuous design. The two doors depict a long procession of numerous figures travelling on foot and horseback along buildings and a pagoda into a mountainous landscape. This is the annual court journey, Hofreis, of the Dutch from Nagasaki to the Shogun’s court in Edo. Three horseback riders are dressed as Dutch merchants and a fourth figure, probably het Opperhoofd, is seen inside a palanquin, norimon. Just about to cross the bridge, two men are carrying a cabinet like the present one. Many Japanese figures on either side of the procession are engaged in various activities; some play musical instruments on board of small boats, others are fishing; figures inside buildings are depicted playing go, and farmers are tending to their rice paddocks. The upper part of the right door shows a large mansion, probably the local daimyo’s castle, with men kneeling before a man in the central courtyard. The court journey fits in with the foreign policy of the shogunate which accorded a role to the VOC alongside China, Korea, and the Ryukyu Islands who also had to pay tribute. However, the VOC employees were traders, having low status in Japan’s social hierarchy, and they were received with less deference than were the state embassies from Korea and the Ryukyu Islands. Nevertheless, the contacts with the Dutch were a welcome source of information to the Shogun about Europe and European science and technology. The left side of the cabinet depicts, in mirror image, a rare view of the artificial fan-shaped Deshima Island, the trading post for the Dutch in Japan. The island, where the Dutch flag flies, is surrounded by small Japanese boats and an anchored three-masted fluyt (cargo ship), flying Dutch flags, with on the stern the VOC monogram. On the bottom right a busy street of Nagasaki is shown, bordered by shops and leading up to the stone bridge. On the island the trees are beautifully painted, two cows can be seen, and the flagpole, all in very fine detail. Dutchmen and enslaved Malay are visible outside the buildings and two Japanese figures, probably guards, sit in a small hut in the centre. A maximum of fifteen to twenty Dutchmen lived on the island at any time and soldiers or women were not allowed. Restrictions on Deshima were tight, and the merchants were only allowed to leave the island by special permission. The Opperhoofd had to be replaced every year, and each new Opperhoofd had to make a court journey to pay tribute, present gifts, and to obtain permission to Margaret Barclay eep on trading. In the distance, many birds fly above the hills and a four-story pagoda can be seen. The right side of the cabinet is painted with other horse riders and their retinue journeying through mountains. The pair of doors to the front open to reveal ten rectangular drawers. The drawers are decorated with scenes of birds in flight and landscapes with trees and plants. The reverse of the left door with two thatched buildings, one with a ladder, underneath a camelia tree with large blooms; the right door with a three-story pagoda nestled among trees and both doors with a flying phoenix, ho-oo bird. The cabinet, with elaborately engraved gilt copper mounts, hinges, lock plates and brass handles, is raised on an 18th-century English japanned wood stand. A pair of large cabinets...

Eye catching highly carved sculptural dragon armchair. Japanese dragon motif carried throughout arms and chair with fantastic detailed hand carvings. Victorian era cabriole legs fini...

Late Edo period (1614-1868) antique Japanese presentation table in dark brown lacquer with dark red details.

Japanese Wakasa lacquer table with coral quince design. Signature not readable.

A striking orange-red lacquer Japanese low tea or coffee table decorated in the negoro lacquer technique, Taisho period, 1920s, Japan. Of simplistic design, the table has a wonder...

Anthozoa Roxa Tapestry is handmade with 100% Portuguese wool yarn, using tufting gun, carving and textile sculpture techniques. It has a 3D sculpture element and the pine frame, as p...

This is a very old and rare Japanese tooling storage tansu. It was made early Edo period of Japanese cedar and its handle was made of iron. Its ultimate...

A fine and unusually large Japanese table cabinet or jewelry chest with yosegi marquetry work and lacquer paneled doors, Meiji period, late 19th century, Japan. The oversized tab...

Pair of Japanese red lacquered folding meditation armchair for monks. Pair of kyokuroku chairs in original red lacquer with gilt carvings and embossed brass hardware. One chair wit...

A simple and elegant Japanese sea chest, funa tansu, crafted of keyaki wood with iron fittings, mounted on a modern iron stand, Meiji Period, dated 1882, Japan. This Japanese sea ch...

FINE CLOTHES RACK The top rail with scroll ends to prevent the clothing from sliding off, supported on side posts decorated with open-carved spandrels, braced with a central panel de...

19th c. Kuruma tansu - cabinet on wheels. These were used to store belongings and the wheels made them easy to move outside during house fires, which were...