Edo period, seventeenth century.
Gold makie on a dense nashiji ground.
9.6 x 8.0 x 5.5 cm diam. Pewter rims. Inscribed storage box.
An organically sinuous design based on the flowers and foliage of the kikyo (Chinese bell-flower) decorates both the top and underside of the gently swelling lid of this box. Executed in drawn and incised gold hiramakie, it is set against a dense nashiji ground. The outer design incorporates a gyoyo (tassel) mon (crest), suggesting that the piece would have been part of the cosmetics' set, tebako, of a bride's trousseau. The tassel design is thought to have originated in Southwest Asia, reaching Japan via Tang China, and based on the decorations traditionally fixed to horse saddles and bridles. This mon was used by the Nabeshima family,
The tooth-blacking box was an essential component of the Japanese married woman's cosmetics. It was used to store the strongly tannic fushiko powder required to blacken the teeth of married women.