Edo period, eighteenth century.
Gold and silver makie on a nashiji ground.
22.8 x 19.2 x 4.2 cm.
The design depicts a Chinese scholar seated on a leopardskin-covered garden seat beneath a weeping willow. He is playing a zheng (Japanese koto ) and is attended by a young Chinese boy ( karako ). The scene could refer to the Six Dynasties (265-618 CE) Chinese magistrate Toenmei (d. 427), known as the Sage of the Five Willows, who, in retirement, planted five willow trees in front of his home. His poetry epitomised the Confucian ideal, and such imagery would have resonated with the box's owner.
The painterly scene, precisely executed in gold, silver and black takamakie , is set against a swirling nashiji background capturing the atmosphere of twilight rolling mists. The edges, in fundame , show a scrolling design ( karakusa ) in hiramakie . Opening the box reveals the subject of the scholar's upward stare - a crescent moon, of inlaid silver, that illuminates a partly clouded sky. Against this a flight of birds approaches the hilly landscape below, planted with pines and cherry trees, with a building nestling in the hills and two small boats moored at water's edge. The brass water-dropper has been acid-etched to show petals floating in a steam.