Inrō with four boxes in black and gold lacquer, representing characters and a pavilion in a snowy landscape.

Small boxes formed of compartments that fit one on top of the other, inrō (印 籠) are traditional Japanese clothing items. Since the kimono had no pockets, everyday objects were carried in small boxes (sagemono) hung on the belt (obi)...

Inrô in gilded lacquer according to the takamaki-e, hiramaki-e and kirigane techniques, with five squares of a mountain lake landscape.

On the first side, there is a samurai on horseback, who is drinking from the stream. A servant accompanies him, his sword in hand. Next to the pine tree are the things they would have left behind...

A Japanese Kobako (personal storage box) designed with beautiful Yosegi Zaiku marquetry. Made in the Hakone region in Kanagawa Prefecture, it is a single drawer style used to store precious Okimono and treasures.

Yosegi Zaiku is a Japanese traditional craft dating back to the Edo Period (1603-1868). Wooden rods of varying natural colors are cut into elongated geometric shapes and glued together to form solid blocks...

Rectangular Japanese lidded box with superbly crafted gold nashiji maki-e lacquer having wonderful raised gold birds. The designs on the top continue onto all 4 sides and the attention to details are really amazing. Dates Late Edo to Early Meiji. Condition is excellent as this came from a private collection. Measures: 3" long, 2.5" wide, 2" high

A breathtaking pair of 19th century (Meiji period) sake cups decorated with hawks stored in silk pouches and enclosed in a red lacquered period wood box. In the basin two hawks, one perched in a pine accented with inlayed mother of pearl, the other soaring high overhead, are depicted in minute detail in raised gold designs. Opposite waves crash over rocks speckled with solid gold lichen. The cups are 10.5 cm (4-1/4 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.

Mid Meiji black lacquer gold maki-e borders document box. Features three raised gold designs with very fine details and Japanese characters. The has a gold sprinkled nashiji interior. In excellent condition, it measures: Length 10-1/8" x Width 3-3/4" x Height 2-1/8". Circa 1890. More photos available upon request.

Pine Tray with Kintsugi gold and silver lacquer repairs featuring an intricate depiction of a butterfly in silver and gold maki-e flying around a pool formed of the natural dark and light wood grain. Splits on both ends are perfectly joined with inset wood “Butterflies”. Cracks have been filled with gold and silver creating streaks of light on the aged wood surface...

Large suzuribako showing on its cover a mountainous landscape, crossed by a river, bordered by two houses and trees such as pine trees and cherry trees in bloom. It could be Okabe, the twenty-first of the fifty-three stations of the Tôkaidô. The bottom is gilded in the fundame technique, decorated with takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, hirameji and kirigane...

A vintage Japanese bamboo wall hanging featuring the famous monk Daruma with a proverb attributed to his wisdom. The saying reads Nanakorobi Yaoki or Seven Falls Down Requires Eight Times Up...

Small Japanese circular covered box in gold nashiji and maki-e lacquer with the lid having a lovely display of iris flowers in a stream setting created in both low and raised relief lacquer work The sides also feature raised delicate designs that complete this perfect little box. In excellent antique condition, it measures 2-1/2" diameter and 1-7/8" high. Dates Late Edo or Early Meiji and a piece worthy of a collector.

Lacquer kobako box with two compartments in the shape of a fan. Decorated with pine trees near a stream on all sides in takamaki-e, hiramaki-e techniques with a nashi-ji background. On the upper side, a couple of cranes are looking for food on the ground, while three baby cranes are waiting in the nest located in the pine tree. Interior in nashi-ji lacquer.

Japan - Edo period (1603-1868)

Height: 1.8 in...

Rectangular box for paper (Ryōshibako) decorated with birds and pine trees.

The lid presents a design mixing several techniques of lacquer work. This is visible with the three cranes represented in the middle of pine branches in gilded maki–e (a precious metallic varying density powdered sprayed onto a base or background of fresh lacquer) on a black background.

The crane in the center is in brown lacquer with metallic pigments...

Beautiful example of an 18th Japanese suzuribako (calligraphy box) made with a gold maki-e lacquer scene of huts near a mountain stream. The interior of the box holds rests for brushes and a compartment for an ink stone as well as a small silver water dropper. The entire inside including the underside of the lid is covered in a lovely dense nashiji (fine gold flakes suspended in clear lacquer) with young pine branches in maki-e lacquer...

Antique Japanese rectangular lacquer stationary box with a large parrot sitting on a corn stock and eyeing an ear of corn. Raised maki-e lacquer in gold and various shades of dark green and brown. The sides are further decorated with more ears of corn (a grasshopper sitting on one). The lacquer work contains great details like the texture of the parrot's feather and the stringy silk of the corn...

Edo Era, circa 1850s-1860s, Japanese red lacquer over wood Japanese Bento Box in 5 sections. The exterior features Shibayama style of inlay on a red lacquer ground with the interior and underside being black lacquer. The Shibayama design has several types of stone inlays including MOP with branching, cherry blossoms, leaves, buds and rockery all done in raised work. The workmanship is very good...

Antique Japanese suzuki-bako, calligraphy box. Lacquered with a profusion of wildflowers in gold maki-e technique on black lacquer ground. The underside of the lid is beautifully preserved with more wild flowers growing near a swirling stream. This scene is also rendered in maki-e but includes some flashes of red leaves and a silvery moon on a black lacquer ground with clouds of nashiji...

Beautiful and original Japanese suzuribako lacquer decorated with flowers and foliage on a nashi-ji gradient lacquer. The interior is in black lacquer with a water cup and ink stone.

Japan – 20th century

Height : 2.17 in. (5.5 cm) – Length : 12.20 in. (31 cm) – Width : 9.65 in. (24.5 cm)

Six compartments inrô in black, gold and silver lacquer, depicting cranes in a landscape. The inside is in nashi-ji lacquer. Signed Kajikawa underneath.

Kajikawa was one of the most talented families of lacquer artists, specializing in inrô. They worked for the Tokugawa shogunate from the 17th to the 19th century. It is almost impossible to assign any individual pieces to the different members of this family. They often used encrustations of metal or nacre. Kaji...