1-234-693 - The Museum of East Asian Art/Heritage Images

Maki-e lacquer dowry box with hill and waterfall design with internal tray, Middle Edo period, Japan, 1st half of 18th century. A rectangular dowry black lacquer box very richly decorated on a roiro ground in various maki-e techniques including gold and rogin takamakie, hiramakie e-nashiji, and kirigane and actual gold and silver nuggets, aogai, pewter and stained ivory. The top is decorated with a tree-covered sloping hill down which flows a stream with a waterfall falling over the end of the box into a pond with small boats and jakago against the banks, reeds around and fire flies hovering above the swirling current. The sides are also decorated with reeds. The interior of the cover and the fitted tray are similarly decorated on a nashiji ground with a silver moon rising from behind a rocky hillside.