by TAMAKAJI Zokoku (1806-69)
Edo period, nineteenth century.
Red Lacquer on a carved ground, kamakura-bori. Black roiro interior. Signed and sealed.
7.3 (dia.) x 3 cm. Original signed storage box.
This simple wooden box is carved with two auspicious symbols. On the lid is a powerful depiction of a bat, komori, admired for its long life, and sharing the same pronunciation as the ideograph for “luck”. On the base is carved the fungus of immortality, reishi, used to this day in eastern medicine as treatment for a wide variety of illnesses.
From 1830 Zokoku, perhaps best known for his innovative ‘incised and colour-filled’ lacquer technique, kinma, was retained by the Matsudaira clan, and granted the status of samurai.