Lot Essay
The intricate decoration on this box was especially admired by James Orange, who wrote "the work on the helmet is marvellously fine and requires inspection with a magnifying glass. Attributed to the famous lacquerer, Kajikawa Kyujiro". Kajikawa Kyujiro (mid-17th century) was the second master and true founder of the Kajikawa line of lacquerers and was described in the 1781 Soken kisho as "the best inro-maker of the past or present" but no authenticated works of his are known. This little box is more likely to date from the first half of the 19th century.