Antique Japanese lacquer box for incense. Decorated with scenes of flying geese over gently swirling water and marsh grasses in maki-e lacquer on a black lacquer ground. On the reverse side, pheasants and chicks peck among flowers. The interior of the box is fitted with a separate tray decorated with seven children playing with three dogs in maki-e and color lacquer on a black ground. The tray stands on 4 small feet and the sides are decorated with tiny scrolling vines and butterflies...

Inrô with four compartments in fundame lacquer decorated with a pavilion near a river in a mountain landscape in hira maki-e, taka maki-e lacquer and kirigane.
The inside in nashi-ji gold lacquer.
INRO MANJU NON INCLUDED (SOLD)

Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)

Inrô : height 7,5 cm -3 in

Six compartments inrô in black, gold and silver lacquer, depicting cranes in a landscape. The inside is in nashi-ji lacquer. Signed Kajikawa underneath.

Kajikawa was one of the most talented families of lacquer artists, specializing in inrô. They worked for the Tokugawa shogunate from the 17th to the 19th century. It is almost impossible to assign any individual pieces to the different members of this family. They often used encrustations of metal or nacre...

Antique Japanese suzuribako. Made for holding materials for fine calligraphy writing. The cover of the box is decorated with gold maki-e wild flowers including ferns and daisies with silver details and clouds of gold flakes. The interior of the box holds an ink stone, a copper water dropper and areas for resting brushes all treated with clouds of fine gold nashiji on a black lacquer ground. The underside of the lid is decorated with a scene of a rocky riverbank covered in wild flowers...

Thick hirame polished gold disks glimmer on the surface of this peach-shaped container by Okada Yuji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Toju. The peak is tinged pink, while a green leaves embedded with kiri-gane gold wrapping up the sides. A striking work of kanshitsu (dried lacquer art) from the pinnacle of the artists career. It is 7.5 cm (3 inches) tall, the same diameter and is in excellent condition...

Pair of Japanese Lacquered jubako or tiered box used for placing sweets inside. The box is decorated with motif of waves done in mother of pearl. The lid and the side of the boxes contain images of prunus done in hira-makie. The jubako was done in the Ryukyu Islands where the motifs contain influences from Japan, China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Age: Mid-Edo Period (Circa 1700) Size: (per box) height 18.75" width 11.25" length 13.75"

Small gold lacquer tray, magnificent example of kirikane and multiple lacquer technical and multiple lacquering techniques. Absolutely exceptional quality, very rarely encountered. Presence of small details in mother of pearl. I think it must have been part of a set, most probably inside a box? But it is possible that it was created alone. Perfect state of conservation. Difficult to date exactly, I would say around 1800. Dimensions 105x80mm.

A Japanese inro made in lacquer with great craftsmanship and decorated with the image of six monkeys. The outer surface of the Inro is coated in gold lacquer which creates an elegant contrast with the metal monkeys. This Inro depicts a scene in the round, in which monkeys interact in an evocative natural environment...

Lacquered wooden box inlaid with gold, silver and mother-of-pearl mosaic, typical work of the famous Somada family of Japanese lacquerers. The box is made up of two superimposed parts which are partially covered by a surprisingly openwork lid, largely revealing the sides. Inside there is a small tray. The preciousness of this box is matched only by its fragility; however, it is in a perfect state of conservation, which is exceptional...

A stunning large antique Japanese lacquer bunko (document box). Decorated all over with raised blossoming white rhododendron. Charming details of the leaves show where they have been nibbled appreciatively. Very unusual and beautiful use of takamaki-e lacquer technique. Signed on the underside of the lid by 源十郎 Genjūrо̄...

A stunning fine antique Japanese makie lacquer box decorated with a tataki-nuri style black background with makie of vines and gourd and folding fans on the exterior. The interior is decorated in nashiji with a still life of a flower arrangement set in a basket with a charming lifelike rabbit and autumn grass for the inner tray. The vibrant colors and designs are often seen in lacquer works from the Edo and Meiji periods...

Circular kobako in gold lacquer, decorated with cranes and pines on a nashiji background. The interior is in nashiji lacquer. On the lid, we can see the mon of the Tsugaru family (津軽).
This family is a samurai clan from the province of Mutsu, in the north of Japan. It was originally a branch of the Nambu clan, which became free during the Azuchi Momoyama period (1573-1603)...

Kodansu in gold lacquer and mother of pearl, with silver hinges and decorated with naturalistic motifs. The surface is covered with a delicate and shiny golden lacquer on a nashiji background which gives the box set brilliance. Decoration with naturalistic motifs in lacquer with mother-of-pearl inlays depicting stylized peonies and phoenixes in flight, creating an evocative contrast of colors and a fascinating texture. The inside of the kodansu hides three drawers decorated with silver kno...

Five matching boxes covered in black lacquer decorated with togidashi feathers in silver and gold enclosed in the original wooden box signed Shunji (active Meiji-Taisho period) and titled Hane-no-zu Maki-tabaco Shoshi (Feather decorated tabaco chest). Each faceted wood box has been covered in polished ink-black ro-iro lacquer, the diaphanous feathers then created on the surface with powdered gold and silver; then all is covered again in lacquer and polished through to reveal the design. An ard...

Box in black lacquered wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl, golden details. The decor is composed of birds among plants and shrubs. The birds are very active, the one in the center tends to what appears to be a stylized egg in a nest? Probably a meaning. The designs are simple but harmonious and very elegant. The inlay work is empirical but the materials used are solide and they have stood the test of time well indeed the lacquer has not peeled off and the mother-of-pearl is still well maintained. ...

A small round heavily lacquered box made to contain incense carved with Peonies by Imperial Artist Suwa Sozan I enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Layer upon layer of lacquer has been applied over time, each subsequent layer allowing for drying, then the entire is carved through with the floral motif. This would likely have been years in the making. This kogo is 3 inches (7.5 cm) diameter and in perfect condition signed underneath Sozan. Sozan was known best for his impeccable celad...

Rectangular kobako in gold lacquer fundame. The cover represents in hiramaki-e a Japanese castle, surrounded by majestic pines. The decoration extends on the edges of the lid and on the sides of the box. The interior and bottom are in nashi-ji lacquer.

Japanese castles (shiro) are constructions mainly made of stone and wood. They are perched on stone headlands. Their appearance coincided with the beginning of Japanese feudalism. At the beginning simple wooden fortifications intended...

Japanese lacquered gold and silver hira maki-e biwa shape box (kobako).

Japan, Edo period

Length 7,67 in – Width 3,14 in – Heigth 0,7 in

The biwa is a japanese short-necked fretted luth, often used in narrative storrytelling. The biwa is chosen instrument of Benten, goddess of music, eloquence and poetry.