Page 121 - Bonham's Asian Art London November 2015

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287 It is curious that these chests have come to characterise the
A MOMOYAMA JIDEI LACQUER CASKET Momoyama era for many western collectors. After all, this was a
Circa 1590-1600 time of military government where Japanese Society was totally
The rectangular casket with domed hinged cover, decorated in administered by warriors who had taken all aristocratic power for
gold hiramaki-e and inlaid in mother-of-pearl on a black ground themselves. Toyotomi Hideyoshi introduced these new initiatives, many
with panels of densely fruiting and flowering plants within geometric which effectively widened the already considerable gap between the
pattern borders, brass fittings engraved with blossoming stems and Samurai and farming classes. As an instance, in 1583 he initiated
chrysanthemum flowerheads. a large scale analysis of arable land which resulted in farming land
22cm x 13.5cm x 15.5cm (8.5/8in x 5.1/4in x 6.1/8in). reform. Typically, this included giving land to farmers, but ensuring that
they did not carry swords.
£4,000 - 6,000 Against these changes, which broadly coincided with the arrival of both
CNY39,000 - 58,000 the Portuguese and the Jesuits, local craftsman were commissioned
HK$47,000 - 71,000 to fashion this typical genre of lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
Caskets of various sizes, cabinets and portable shrines or altars
For other examples of this classic form, thought to date from around [Seigan] were amongst these objects which eventually found their way
the time of Sekigahara in 1600, see Christie’s London, 20 June 1995, to Europe. As a result, the Momoyama period became known in the
lots 190 and 192. West, not for the new traditions of swordsmithing, but for these unique
designs of lacquer which invariably came to rest in European country
homes [see for instance Great Japan Exhibition, 1981, No. 155 lent by
Lord Methuen].

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