A KOBAKO [SMALL BOX]

MEIJI/TAISHO PERIOD (EARLY 20TH CENTURY)

Details

A KOBAKO [SMALL BOX]
Meiji/Taisho Period (Early 20th Century)
Of octagonal form; kinji ground; decoration in gold and silver hiramaki-e and takamaki-e with details in togidashi-e; interior in kinji, gold and aokin nashiji and gold and silver togidashi-e; the base gold nashiji; the rims silver

Exterior with a mountainous landscape with a stream, crags, pine- and cherry-trees; the sides with a stylised semi-circular wave design; interior with nashiji clouds, togidashi-e stylised wakamatsu [young pines] and, inside the lid, chidori [wave-birds or dotterels]
1 x 3in. (2.7 x 9.0cm.)

Provenance

Jan Dees Collection

Lot Essay

The extremely conservative yet sophisticated technique, the bright kinji ground and the landscape design centred around a rushing mountain stream all suggest affinities with the tebako ['handy-boxes'] that were made in the early 20th century for presentation by members of the Imperial family. Examples of such boxes are reproduced in Oliver Impey, Malcolm Fairley and Joe Earle (eds.), The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Japanese Art, vol. IV (London, 1995), pt. 2, cat. nos. 223-30.

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