Autumn Field Writing Box

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Autumn Field Writing Box

About the Item

The artist named this exquisite suzuribako writing box "Yakyo", or "The Pleasures of the Fields", an old poetic term from Heian-period literature. He decorated the cover with bush clover (hagi) and pampas grass (susuki) by a meandering stream, a classic autumn decor alluding to the Noji Tamagawa, one of the Six Jewel Rivers. The tall grasses on the upper right are depicted in togidashi gold and silver lacquer, while the profusion of bush clover and grasses on the lower half are executed in two tones of takamakie raised gold lacquer, hiramakie gold lacquer, and togidashi lacquer with further details in kirigane gold foil. The autumn flowers are formed in inlaid mother-of-pearl. The water current of the meandering stream is shown in hiramakie gold lacquer, and the moonlit stream banks are brightly highlighted in bokashi gold powder, which gradates to black further away from the banks.

On the inside are bright, stylized cherry blossoms in takamakie raised gold and silver lacquer. The suzuribako comes with its original suzuri ink stone, which is decorated on the edge with gold lacquer and on the bottom with nashiji gold flakes. The box also has the original pure silver suiteki water dropper in the form of a cherry blossom, and two original brushes with covers decorated with nashiji gold flakes. The artist signed the box underneath the ink stone as "Gosaburo saku" (Made by Gosaburo).

Gosaburo was the elder brother of Domoto Insho, the painter. He was born in Kyoto and was taught the technique of lacquer by Tomita Koshitsu, exhibiting widely in Japan from 1928 at the Teiten and thereafter at the Shin Bunten and Nitten. The Baur collection in Geneva includes a suzuribako by Gosaburo, which is decorated in togidashi lacquer with a heron on a snowy willow branch.

The writing box comes with its original fitted kiri-wood tomobako box, which is inscribed on the top "Makie suzuribako yakyo" (Pleasures of the Fields Gold Lacquer Writing Box) and signed on the inside of the lid "Makie Gosaburo saku" (Gold lacquer made by Gosaburo) with a red seal mark reading "Gosaburo saku" (Made by Gosaburo).

Dimensions:
Height: 1.74 in (4.4 cm)Width: 6.78 in (17.2 cm)Depth: 7.6 in (19.3 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Gold,Mother-of-Pearl,Silver
Place of Origin:
Japan
Period:
1930-1939
Date of Manufacture:
Showa period, 1930s
Condition:
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: T-35341stDibs: U110510898830