LATE EDO PERIOD (CIRCA 1825-50)

Details

A RARE AND UNUSUAL 'NAGASAKI' LACQUER HUMIDOR
Late Edo Period (Circa 1825-50)
Of lacquered wood, in cylindrical form surmounted by a domed integral cover with a knop that turns to open three revolving doors in the side, each door fitted with three conjoined silvered metal rings and a shaped tray to hold three cigars vertically, the whole on a slightly larger integral base with a drawer with a pinecone-shaped metal handle, the brown-black lacquer ground decorated in gold and aokin [silver- gold mix] lacquer and shell with on the cover five floral roundels, on the sides branches of pomegranate, grape, peach and other plants with butterflies, the base with further roundels, old damage
13 3/8in. (34cm.) high

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

For two more examples of almost identical form but different techniques of decoration, see Komatsu Taishu and Iwasaki Hitoshi, Kitsuengu [Smoking utensils] (Nihon no bijutsu [Arts of Japan], vol. 412, pp. 94-5, Tokyo, Shibundo, Sept. 2000). This is one of a range of items in Western shapes, some of them recorded in a set of drawings dated 1856 and preserved in Nagasaki City Museum, that were manufactured for export, not only in Nagasaki but also in Kyoto, during the closing years of the Edo period.1

1 Oliver Impey, 'Sasaya Kisuke, "Nagasaki" lacquer and the woodworker Kiyotomo', Oriental Art, vol. XLIV no. 2 (Summer 1998), pp. 28-32

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