Meiji Period, late nineteenth century.
Coloured, gold and silver makie, with bone, ceramic and dry lacquer, kanshitsu, inlays, on a black ‘stone’ ground, ishime.
21.2 x 24.4 x 19 cm (h)
This exquisite tiered box, with fitted tray, is decorated with the essential components of the tea ceremony set against a polished black 'stone' ground. It shows mastery of an extraordinary range of lacquer techniques perfected by the Zeshin school to imitate metals, ceramics, textiles and bamboo, coupled with inlays of ceramic, deer-horn and bone, to capture the essence of the pieces.
The refined quality of the body of the piece - with characteristic inset and rounded corners, and delicately profiled edges to the junction of the tiers - suggests that it almost certainly pre-dates its Meiji decoration.
(For a description of the incense ceremony see Symbol & Substance in Japanese Lacquer, Okada, Weatherill, 1995. pp. 154-59)