UNSIGNED, EDO PERIOD (LATE 17TH-EARLY 18TH CENTURY)

Details

A Fine Tebako
Unsigned, Edo Period (Late 17th-Early 18th Century)
Of standard form with rounded corners, aikuchi [flush-fitting] lid and an interior footed tray, the exterior and the upper surface of the tray with a black lacquer ground sprinkled with dense gold hirame verging on nashiji, decoration in gold and silver hiramaki-e and takamaki-e with squares of gold foil and applied silver, the rocks with details in uchikomi, the other surfaces with very fine and dense gold nashiji, lead rims and shoulders, the decoration consisting of a rocky landscape by the sea with rocks, trees, buildings and geese, the waves very precisely worked in gold hiramaki-e, very slight damage
6 15/16 x 10 11/16 x 8 5/16in. (17.6 x 27.1 x 21.1cm.)

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

This box is an outstanding expression of one of the predominant trends in lacquer design toward the end of the 17th century. Although at first glance one might expect the seascape to incorporate ashide, the hidden characters and syllables from classic poems that are so often seen in earlier work, such esoteric references have been eliminated in favour of a more direct approach, without sacrificing anything in terms of technical or aesthetic quality. This fundamental change, a response to the emergence of a less sophisticated yet wealthy clientele than the courtiers and elite merchants of the previous era, would be reflected in much 18th- and 19th-century lacquerware.

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