299
A RARE RED LACQUER AND INLAID WOOD CABINET, Japan, Meiji period, late 19th century
h cm 51,5 x l cm 49,5 x p cm 34,5
Rectangular body, finely finished externally in red lacquer carved in high relief imitating cinnabar lacquer (tihong), decorated with geometric patterns and floral scrollwork.
Catalog Notes:
This exceptional cabinet reflects the remarkable technical eclecticism and craftsmanship that characterised Japanese art workshops during the late Meiji period. The piece bears witness to a learned intercultural dialogue with Chinese tradition: the exterior emulates the complex imperial carved lacquer technique tihong of the Qing dynasty, reinterpreted by Japanese artisans with exceptional formal clarity and superb precision of carving.
The front is articulated by two shaped doors, enriched with circular and fan-shaped gilt-lacquer medallions, alternating with polychrome figural inserts depicting animals, sages and mountainous landscapes.
The interior of the doors is veneered in dark woods and enriched with shibayama-style inlays in mother-of-pearl and lacquer, depicting flowering magnolia branches and a songbird with a long feathered tail.
The interior is organised into six drawers arranged over three parallel tiers. The drawer fronts, finished in brown lacquer, are decorated in gold maki-e with raised floral motifs and fitted with dark horn spherical pulls.
The reverse bears a three-character signature carved within a reserve: Waraku-dō (和楽堂).
Catalog Notes:
This exceptional cabinet reflects the remarkable technical eclecticism and craftsmanship that characterised Japanese art workshops during the late Meiji period. The piece bears witness to a learned intercultural dialogue with Chinese tradition: the exterior emulates the complex imperial carved lacquer technique tihong of the Qing dynasty, reinterpreted by Japanese artisans with exceptional formal clarity and superb precision of carving.
The striking visual transition between the sculptural opulence of the red lacquer exterior and the intimate, poetic delicacy of the interior—adorned with the highly refined shibayama inlay technique—lends this kodansu a particularly sophisticated presence, intended for the most discerning Western and Eastern collectors of the period.
€ 8.000,00 / 12.000,00
Estimate
€ 8.000,00
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€
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