Japanese Lacquer

Antique Japanese lacquered wood Box Beautiful and elegant lacquered wood box and gold gilt, decorated with a crane with floral motives and Japanese script Measures: Height 6 inches 1...

Japanese lacquer box with mandarin ducks motif on cover. One lacquer tray and one small lacquer plank inside the box.

The Inro is comprised of three stacked compartments and features a deer motif with mother of pearl accents, an ojime and a wooden frog netsuke. Inros were used to store items like m...

A fine and rare Japanese black lacquer table or jewellery cabinet, exquisitely decorated in intricate detail, dating to the late Meiji per...

We kindly invite you to read the full description, as we aim to provide detailed technical and historical information to ensure the authenticity of our pieces. Unusual and refined pa...

This is a wooden bucket used by Japanese lacquerware craftsmen to store lacquer. It is believed to have been used from the Meiji period to the first half of the Showa era (1868-1940)...

Pretty Japanese lacquered box decorated with birds and foliage. signed Lacquered inside and outside Late 19th century Without key Nice lock Ideal for storing jewelry.

A miniature Japanese set made of wood and lacquered in a classic black with gold accents and lacquered red interiors. The set consists of a variety of...

A fine antique Japanese Meji Period lacquer box decorated with a fan and a stylized star shaped window in the maki-e technique. The fan at the top right corner, fully opened depictin...

A spectacular Japanese maki-e lacquer lidded box, possibly a writing box, suzuribako, decorated with images of folding fans, ogi, Edo Period, earl...

A very beautiful set of six (6) Japanese black lacquer and gold sake, Champagne flutes, or wine stemware glasses, circa 20th century, Japan. Each with a different botanical design in...

An exceptionally fine and unusual Japanese lacquer writing implements box, suzuribako, in the form of a zither, koto, Edo Period, 18th century, Japan. With a modern wood storage box,...

A fine Japanese miniature kodansu constructed from Kaki wood (Persimmon) circa 19th century, late Meiji period. With its expressive exotic wood grains and exposed tenon construction,...

An exquisite Japanese Meiji Period small lacquer incense box, kogo, in the form of a duck or goose, late 19th century, Japan. The delicate lacquer box, known as a kogo in Japanese, ...

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...

A fine and unusual Japanese black lacquer and mother of pearl inlaid box, Momoyama Period, 16th century, Japan. The large box and cover featu...

A finely decorated vintage Japanese box for precious incense, kogo, in the shape of a male mandarin duck, oshidori, by Zohiko, Showa Era, 1960's, or earlier. The lovely and whimsic...

A fine Japanese lacquer Takamakura Geisha pillow, first half of the 20th century. Depicting Shi-Shi Lion between peony and rock in gold, silver, red and ...

A rare, high quality lacquered portable jû'bako (tiered food container/stacked picnic box) fitted with a removable vertical safety bar - housing a nice secret – decorated with a refi...

Japanese wooden lacquered lower table / stand. Age: Japan, Showa Period, Early 20th Century Size: Length 51.8 C.M. / Width 33 C.M. / Height 12.7 C.M. Condition: Nice condition overall.

A Japanese lacquered tea caddy (known as Natsume) with fine Maki-e decoration circa 18-19th century Edo to Meiji period. The large-sized nat...

A fine and unusual Japanese lacquer box for incense accessories, kobako, featuring a tagasode (whose sleeves?) design, Meiji Period, circa 1900, Japan. The exquisite box of simple rectangular shape worked in maki-e lacquer, taka-maki-e, and raden, all against a lush ground of gold nashiji. Fitted with silver rims. The main decorative element of the box depicts a six panel folding screen, byobu, showing an interior scene with kimono strewn over a rack, a motif known as tagasode (whose sleeves), all in raised taka-maki-e lacquer and inlaid raden. The screen depicts an intimate room with tatami mats on the floor and sliding shoji doors in the background. The foreground depicts a large clothing...

A Japanese writing box with ink stone (known as Suzuribako) with exquisite maki-e decoration circa late Meiji to early Taisho period (1890s-1930s)...

A pair of Japanese lacquered lidded Hokai boxes with chased brass hardware and original ropes. Hokai boxes are traditionally used in Japan as the containers ...

A seven-piece Japanese Arita Sweetmeat set and matching lacquer box, Meiji period (1880-1890). Comprising of a central hexagonal dish and six-fan shaped ...

An exquisite small Japanese maki-e lacquer stacking box for incense and accessories, ju-kobako, late Edo or early Meiji Period, mid 19th century, Japan. Crafted in maki-e lacquer an...

This is a good papier mâché, circular, black lacquered tray, hand enameled and gilded, made in Japan during the 19th century, Meiji period. This circular tray is very decorative, ...

A Japanese ink stone box (known as Suzuribako) with exquisite maki-e decoration from Edo period (circa mid-18th century). The box features a rectang...

Huge Japanese red lacquerware gourd motif box, decorated in relief with Japanese gourds suspended from leafy branches and scrolling vines.

A small low table with lacquer and intricate mother-of-pearl inlay design from Ryukyu Islands kingdom circa 17-18th century. Ryukyuan kingdom was used to be an independent island cou...

A Japanese four-case lacquer inro by a member of Kajikawa family circa 19th century (late Edo to early Meiji period). It depicts a nocturnal scenery of a meandering stream surrounded by bush clovers, where a full moon is reflected on the water. It was masterfully decorated in gold and silver maki-e using a combination of techniques including takamakie, togidashi and kirigane as well as aogai (abalone shell) inlays. The stream was set between the slightly elevated banks, adding to this piece a already strong three-dimensional composition. The interior was decorated in gold nashiji. It was signed on the bottom "Kajikawa Zou" (made by Kajikawa and a pot seal centered with "Ei" in Kanji. In one of the compartment, there is a katakana mark, appears to be a name, possibly the owner. Kajikawa clan was one of the most famous lacquer artisanal family established in the 17th century. Many well known members over the generations produced lacquer art in a wide range of formats, but two third were signed only with the family name such as this one. It is therefore not possible to pinpoint the exact author of this piece. Provenance: This inro was purchased as lot 349 in Christie's New York sale Japanese...

A very fine Japanese maki-e lacquer decorated tabako bon, or smoking box, late Edo Period, mid-19th century, Japan. The elegant smoking box of black lacquer decorated with a wonderful gold lacquer takamaki-e design of a gnarled and elegantly twisted plum tree with branches in full bloom. A border of golden cranes in flight to the top. The smoking box, called a tabako bon, is comprised of an open section at the top with inset with two cylindrical metal canisters...

This exquisite four-case lacquered inro was dated to the latter part of 18th century to early 19th century (Edo period) and made by Shigehide. The opposite sides of the inro together features a lavish flower arrangement in a bamboo basket (ikebana). The detailed craftmanship was a true pleasure to behold. Mostly Takamaki-e (high relief) were used to texturize the delicate petals of the chrysanthemums, on which different shades of gold were used to create contrast. Raden (mother of pearl) shells were also used to highlight some leaves, rendering the piece an interesting balance of color and material. The interior was completed in a mottled gold finish. It was signed Shigehide on the bottom with a Kao. There is a small carved rabbit ojime bead...

Rectangular kobako box in takamaki-e and kirigane gold lacquer circled with pewter depicting a lake landscape. Inside and back of the box in nashi-ji lacquer. Japan – Edo period (16...

An antique jubako (stack boxes) with five tiers in an elongated octagon shape circa 19th century (end of Edo or beginning of Meiji period). jubako was traditionally used to store and...

A lacquer presentation box with mother-of-pearl inlays from Japanese Ryukyu Islands circa 17-18th century. The lidded box in rectangular form with rounded corner is a classic example...

Stunning antique Japanese lacquer hair comb with a geometric petal-like background of stylized chrysanthemums and flowers done in gold and red maki-e. Possibly Edo or Meiji time peri...

φ310× 205(H) [mm] Box size: φ340×240㎜　4㎏ Lovely design A Kasuga lantern with a cute male and female deer in raised lacquer. The grey parts are made with lead. The window of the lant...

Exceptionally large and rare lacquer cabinet. According to the heraldry, visible on the headgear in one of the panels, it was made for the Inaba family, a high ranking Daimyo family,...

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...

A captivating lacquer suzuri’bako (writing box) of rounded rectangular form depicting a pair of shishi (temple lions) and the lucky god Hotei 布袋 on a rôiro...

A Japanese export lacquer tripod table with feet shaped as bats Nagasaki, 1850-1860 H. 73 x diam. 108 cm The six-lobbed top is decorated with reverse-painted mother-of-pearl in a sprawling motif of plum blossom, bamboo, and peonies, surrounded by fluttering sparrows enhanced by details in maki-e. The table, made to appeal to a foreign audience, incorporates a curious mixture of seasonal references. In addition to the decoration of foliage from late winter and spring, the column is decorated with grapes and a rabbit pounding rice, both Japanese motifs for autumn and the month of September. The feet, shaped like bats that almost appear to wake up from hibernation, symbolise luck and happiness in Japan. The present flamboyant Nagasaki-style table is depicted in the Asada workshop drawings of 1856. These drawings, titled Aogai makie hiinagata hikae (memorandum of designs for lacquer with inlaid pearl...

With slightly domed removable lid opening to an open interior, conforming case with central gilded samurai family crest or Mon depicting a butterfly. Brass trim and handles. Richards...

The case decorated overall in crackle-glaze white lacquer and fitted with a patinated metal carrying handle over three tiers of small drawers. The first two tiers are comprised of a ...

A very fine Japanese lacquer tebako, box for personal accessories, in the form of rolled bolts of brocade fabric, Meiji Period, late 19th century, Japan. The box is whimsically shap...

A rare Japanese export lacquer medical instrument box Edo-period, 1650-1700 L. 19 x W. 6 x H. 8.5 cm This unconventionally shaped lacquer b...

A fine and impressive Japanese gold maki-e decorated black lacquer five-tier jubako with presentation tray, two lids, and the original tomobako storage box, Meiji period, late 19th c...

A rare Japanese Namban Lacquer domed coffer circa 1570-1610s of Azuchi-Momoyama to early Edo period. These types of lacquerware were made for export to ...

Small namban style chest with a semi-cylindrical lid made of black lacquered wood (urushi) with gold lacquer (maki-e) and inlaid with mother-of-pearl (raden). Mon style decoration (...

A large and magnificently decorated Japanese lacquer document box, ryoshibako, signed Umeboshi/Baikyo, late Edo or early Meiji Period, mid 19th century, Japan. The large document box, ryoshibako, of tall, rectangular shape with rounded corners, and fitted with an inrobuta (flush-fitting) cover with beveled edges. The exterior of this exquisite box is decorated all over with fifteen different raised reserves shaped as uchiwa (paddle) fans against a lush and intricate krikane ground imitating shagreen. The uchiwa shaped reserves all of takamaki-e, and exquisitely painted with designs of animals, flowers, and landscapes in silver, gold, maki-e, hiramaki-e, and takamaki-e, with kirikane, nashiji, and polychrome embellishments, upon gold lacquer fudame grounds. The interior of the lid is nothing short of spectacular, featuring a large design of a magnificent and beautifully detailed rooster and hen with chicks gathered around a lazy stream. Large stalks of chrysanthemum bloom behind them. All against an ethereal nashiji ground. The cover of the box features five reserves: 1. Three minogame (turtles with long tails), symbolizing longevity 2. "Narihira Crossing the Sumida" from The Tales of Ise...

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...

One of the finest Japanese Maki-e Suzuribakos (ink box) we have on offer, the roiro color box showcases an ambient nocturnal scene in which two shakudo inlaid crows perched on the handrails of a bridge (possible the Uji Bridge...

A very attractive Japanese wood table top jewelry or collector's chest with marquetry and lacquer decoration, Meiji period, circa 1900, Japan. Previously in the collection of Asbjorn Lunde (1927 - 2017). The chest is crafted in the form of a Chinese seal...

A fine and elegant Japanese gilt maki-e lacquer box for incense accessories, kobako, late Edo period, mid 19th century, Japan. The fantastic small box of rectangular form, with a sl...

A fine Japanese pictoral style lacquer cabinet with gilt-metal mounts Kyoto, Edo period, 1670-1690 Decorated in Japanese relief lacquer work, black lacquer ground decorated...

A small square-form table with lacquer and intricate mother-of-pearl inlay design from Ryukyu Islands kingdom circa 17-18th century. Ryukyuan kingdom was used to be an independent is...

A pair of fine Japanese export lacquered cutlery boxes Kyoto or Nagasaki, late 18th century H. 33.5 x W. 24 x D. 21 cm The bow-fronted boxes with sloping lids flat at the top are made of hinoki wood (Cypress), coated with Japanese paper and decorated in lacquer with scattered gold birds and flowers on a nashiji background. The Japanese mounts are made of copper and both boxes still have internal partitions to keep the cutlery upright. The form of these boxes is similar to a pictorial-style knife box in the collection of the Groninger Museum (inv. 1989- 347), dated between 1730 and 1780, but the style of the decoration is more like that on a knife box in the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem (inv. E62271), which was brought to Salem by James Devereux, Captain of the Franklin, in 1799. Provenance: Henriette Jeane Christine van Neukirchen, called Nyvenheim (1807- 1849) and Nicolaas Johan Steengracht van Oostcapelle (1806-1866), thence by descent to the last owners, Ludolphine Emilie baronesse Schimmelpenninck van der Oye (1944) married in 1969 to Roland Daniel van Haersma Buma (1944), the last residents of castle Duivenvoorden near Voorschoten and the great-great-granddaughter of Nicolaas Johan Steengracht van Oostcapelle. There is no evidence that Nicolaas Johan himself, or any of his or his wife’s ancestors had ever been in Japan. However, Nicolaas’ grandfather (Nicolaas Steengracht, 1754-1840) was a director of both the VOC and WIC (West Indies Company...

A Japanese lacquered wood fubako (a box to store document or small scroll painting) circa late 18th century of Edo period. The rectangular box features a deep lid with rounded corners and recessed mid-edge and a lower box with two bronze medallion rings and tasseled silk ties. The surface of the fubako was elaborately decorated with hiramaki-e and a low takamaki-e on a mottled Mura-nashiji background. The motifs on the lid depict branches of Japanese pine with finely rendered needles on the lower part; on the upper part, it showcases fruited persimmon branches. Two different shades of gold fundame were used to contrast the design and augmented by scattered gold kirigane to highlight some of the leaves. The design continues and cascades down to all sides of the lid as well as the walls of the box. The two bronze medallions appear original to the box and the silk ties show significant fading from the age. This Fine fubako is signed on the lower wall "Kanshosai" in Kanji with a kao mark. All the trims were finished in gold fundame and the interiors a dense nashiji in gold. Kanshosai is the mark of the distinguished lacquer artist Lizuka Toyo I who also signed his work "Toyosai". He was active in the second half of the 18th century during Edo period, employed by Hachisuka Shigeyoshi (1738-1801), daimyo of Awa on Shikoku Island. Although most survived work bearing his marks are inros, he was also known to decorated trays and other larger objects...

A striking and rare black lacquer box by celebrated Japanese lacquer artist Hiroshi Mimura (1921–1975), known for his bold, modernist reinterpretations of traditional techniques. Thi...

Japanese wooden lacquered tray. Age: Japan, Showa period, 20th Century Size: Height 18.1 C.M. / Width 36.7 C.M. / Length 67.2 C.M. Condition: Nice condition overall.