Japanese lacquer suzuri’bako 箱 with a cherry blossom & Chinese landscape design

Superb rectangular ‘Rinpa School’-style black lacquer suzuri’bako (writing box) with a slightly arched well-fitted overhanging cover with rounded corners. The lid with a design of a gosho’guruma (ox-drawn carriage for Heian-era nobles) featuring golden hiramaki-e (low-relief lacquer design) and takamaki-e (high-relief lacquer design), inlays of lead and shiny mother-of-pearl (raden). The design continues along the sides. The reverse of the lid decorated with two large curving pine trees (matsu) executed in the same way, but also with intricate dots of tiny pieces of inlaid blue mother-of-pearl along the golden trunk. The interior shaped to hold various scholar’s accessories, including a partially gold lacquered inkstone (suzuri) and a bronze waterdropper (suiteki) shaped like a mythical minogame. The interior inscribed ‘Hokkyô Kôrin zô’ (Made by Hokkyô Kôrin). Referring to the design being in style of the master Ogata Kôrin, but the actual lacquer artist is unknown. It is a homage to Kôrin by an artist that followed the school of Rinpa. Including black lacquer wooden tomobako (tomobako). The Rinpa School was a key part of the Edo period revival of indigenous Japanese artistic interests described by the term yamato-e. Paintings, textiles, ceramics, and lacquerwares were decorated by Rinpa artists with vibrant colours applied in a highly decorative and patterned manner. Favoured themes, which often contained evocative references to nature and the seasons, were drawn from Japanese literature, notably The Tale of Genji, The Tales of Ise...

An uniquely double-gourd-shaped lacquer suzuri’bako (writing box) with a design of gourd leaves, by Hara Yôyûsai (1769-1845). Covered with amber coloured l...

Exceptional Japanese rectangular gold lacquer tebako (box for personal accessories) with a slightly domed well-fitted lid and raised by four low bracket feet. The lid finely carved with pointed shapes as if it is covered by folded papers. On top of this embossed surface it is decorated with gold and silver hiramaki-e (low-relief design) and takamaki-e (high-relief design) depicting a wild winding river landscape with along the waterfront...

Superb rectangular black lacquer tebako (box for personal accessories) with a slightly domed well-fitted lid. The lid has a continuous soft-tone multicoloured hiramaki-e (low-relief...

A rare Japanese Koto made from carved Paulownia wood and lavishly decorated with lacquer Maki-e circa late 19th century of Meiji Period (1868-1912). The ...

A Japanese lacquered wood fubako (a box used to store document or small scroll painting), circa second half of 19th century late Edo period. The rectangular box features an unusually deep lipped lid with slightly rounded corners, a conforming lower box that is almost entirely covered by the lid which has two bronze medallion rings with tasseled...

A lovely Japanese lacquer rectangular lacquer tray with a slightly scalloped corner and four L shape supporting feet by one of the most celebrated lacquer artist active in Edo period Hara Yoyusai (1772-1845). Yoyusai lived in Edo (Tokyo) and worked under the patronage of Lord Matsudaira. He operated a large workshop and had a very prolific output of lacquer objects. Most survived pieces being inro...

A rare Japanese lacquered wood fubako decorated in Kodaiji maki-e style circa early 17th century the beginning of the Edo period, possibly early toward the end of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. The rectangular, long and slim box features a deep lipped lid with slightly rounded corners, a conforming lower box with two bronze medallion rings with tasseled...