Exquisite suzuribako 硯箱
Price: € 11.000,00
Exquisite suzuri’bako 硯箱 (writing box) by the honoured Edo (now Tôkyô) lacquer artist Funabashi Shûmin 船橋舟珉 (b. 1859).
The rectangular box with an overhanging cover decorated on the exterior with an evening scene of a wagtail perched on a rock in a river before a hilly landscape with pine and cedar trees in shades of gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, togidashi maki-e, hirame, and nashiji on a kinji ground.
The interior of the cover with a large 16-petal chrysanthemum in gold takamaki-e on a rich nashiji ground.
The interior of the box and removable tray nashiji with fundame edges, fitted with a circular silver water dropper engraved with scrolling vines on a nanako ground, and an inkstone lacquered nashiji and fundame on the exterior. Together with a pair of writing brushes, paper pricker, paper knife, and inkstick holder decorated in nashiji and fitted with silver fittings decorated to match the water dropper.
With a lacquered-wood tomobako 供箱 (storage box) decorated with a 16-petal chrysanthemum in gold hiramaki-e, inscribed on the interior ‘Maki-e Funabashi Shûmin’ 蒔絵船橋舟珉 (Lacquer by Funabashi Shûmin).
Period: Japan – Meiji period (1868-1912).
Dimensions: Length 26.1 cm, Width 22.3 cm, Height 5.1 cm.
In a very good original condition. Please look at the photos for a condition reference.
Funabashi Shûmin was a pupil of Uematsu Homin. He won a silver medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition in 1904. The last recorded data about the artist is a bronze medal he won at an exhibition in Tokyo in 1914.
For an Imperial presentation box (tebako) by Funabashi Shūmin see T. Goke, J. Hutt and E. W. Wrangham, Meiji no takara: Treasures of Imperial Japan, Lacquer (London: Kibo Foundation, 1995), vol. 2, no. 230 and Jan Dees, “Japanese Imperial Presentation Boxes 1900-1930”, Oriental Art, vol. 43, no. 1 (1997), fg. 5, p. 4.
For two other lacquered boxes by him in the collection of the ‘Rijksmuseum’, Amsterdam, please click here.
When shipped we will add a certificate of authenticity. Price including insured shipping.
