A JAPANESE GOLD-LACQUER SUZURIBAKO (BOX FOR WRITING UTENSILS)
Edo period (1615-1868) or Meiji era (1868-1912), 18th/19th century
With rounded corners and a kabusebuta (overhanging lid) the exteriors decorated in gold, aokin , and red hiramaki-e, takamaki-e, and togidashi maki-e with embellishments of okibirame gold-foil mosaic against a gold nashiji ground, the motif of a pair of mandarin ducks ( oshidori ) along a body of water under the moon, the male standing on a rocky outcropping, the female floating on the gently undulating waves, the moon and top of the rock made of pewter simulated in lacquer, the underside of the lid with a willow tree and more rock outcroppings, the box containing a fitted rimmed-tray on the right half and a removable tray with sections for the inkstone and a gilded-copper water dropper on the left half, with a wood tomobako storage box.
8 3/8 x 8 7/8 x 2in (22 x 22.5 x 5cm)