Offered by Conservatoire Sakura
Small urushi lacquer cabinet with two doors and three drawers. The decoration depicts a lakeside landscape with a temple, bridge, and mountains, rendered in maki-e lacquer dusted with gold and inlaid with silver and gold mosaics (kirikane) on a nashiji (aventurine) background. The kirikane are remarkable for their diversity of form, as they are not exclusively square as is common; the silver ones have naturally darkened with age.
The interior is decorated with stylized fern motifs (shida) in discreet polychrome maki-e on a nashiji background. This understated fern motif is of remarkable quality; this discretion, highly valued by scholars, suggests that this Kodansu was created for a Japanese aesthete. For the European market, the decoration would have been ostentatious and intended to impress. This fern motif is often found in Zen settings and lends itself to meditation. While Meiji lacquer impresses, Edo lacquer is something to be earned.
The mounts are made of finely crafted silver, contributing to the cabinet's luxurious character.
Dimensions: 153 × 138 × 140 mm. Perfect for a kodansu (small wooden cabinet) that is neither too large nor too small.
Good condition, no restoration. Some minor wear consistent with age and cracks are visible in the photos.
Late Edo period, late 18th – early 19th century.
Its shape, quality, age, and remarkable state of preservation make it an exceptional object worthy of the finest collections.
Delevery information :
International deliveries in the best conditions. Careful packaging. I travel with important items as needed.
