Japanese Namban Lacquer Box, Late 16th And Early 17th Century

Japanese Namban box, late 16th - early 17th century Rectangular in shape, the domed lid, decorated with geometric motifs in mother-of-pearl inlays, shagreen panels and mother-of-pearl chips. The interior is black lacquered. The bronze mount, European work circa 1700. Accidents and losses visible in the photos. The result of commercial exchanges between Portuguese and Dutch merchants with Japanese artisans, the so-called “namban” lacquers (Southern barbarians in Japanese) are rare pieces produced between 1580 and 1620. The shape of the objects is European while the lacquered decorations use Japanese techniques with mother-of-pearl and shagreen inlays adorning gold-painted decorations. Rare and precious objects, they bear witness to the exchanges between two civilizations thousands of kilometers apart, less than a century after the discovery of America. A box of identical size with very similar decoration is kept at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (no. EA1985,53).