A MAKI-E LACQUER SUZURIBAKO, Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912)

h cm 4 x l cm 24 x w 21

Decorated on the lid with a blossoming plum branch beneath a crescent moon. the flowers, rendered in relief with mother-of-pearl inlays and gold lacquer, stand out against an iridescent nashiji ground. inside, the surface is decorated with a pine-needle motif on a nashiji background and houses the traditional suzuri (inkstone) and suiteki (water dropper).