Page 65 - Wolley & Wallace, July 1, 2020 Japanese Works of Art UK

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A JAPANESE LACQUER COSMETIC BOX AND COVER, TEBAKO
EDO PERIOD OR LATER, 18 CENTURY OR LATER
TH
The rectangular body decorated in red, silver and gold hiramaki-e, takamaki-e and nashiji lacquer with an elegant pattern of
a kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttering on a striped background, the sides with ring handles with Kuyo mon-shaped mounts,
the crest made up of eight circles surrounding a ninth one, 13cm x 13.6cm x 19.7cm. (2)
£1,000-2,000
Provenance: formerly in the collection of Edward C. Moore (1827-1891) and later gifted to the family of the current owner.
See the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, access. no.91.1.629, for another lacquer box from the collection of Edward C. Moore
decorated with butterflies. Also access. no.2015.500.2.31a-f for another box with a comparable striped ground. The striped patterns
may be a reference to Indian and South-East Asian textiles.
Kuyo mon, the “Nine Stars Crest”, was used by several high-ranking families including the Katakura, Ishida and Soma clans. Edward Chandler Moore
Edward C. Moore was Tiffany & Co.’s artistic director and a keen collector, from early Islamic Art to Song Dynasty Chinese ceramics and (1827-1891)
Japanese netsuke. His interest for Japanese art was triggered by pieces sent by Christopher Dresser to Louis Comfort Tiffany as a study
collection. Many of the artworks he produced emulate Japanese aesthetics, and the particular pattern of butterflies appears on several
of his designs. His vast collection is housed at the MET in New York.

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