Lot 2. A Lacquer Casket Commissioned by the Portuguese, Momoyama period, late 16th century  © Christie's Image Ltd 2016

Decorated in gold and silver hiramaki-e and inlaid in mother-of-pearl on a black ground, the fall front with three birds amongst cherry blossoms, the top with a pair of birds and camellia trees, one side with tachibana and kikyo [Chinese bellflower] and the other with camellia trees and chrysanthemums, the back with morning glory, each panel bordered with bands of triangles, the interior of the drop front with clematis vine, the central compartment inside and eight surrounding drawers covered with various patterns including maple leaves, kikyo, hagi, tachibana, vine and shells, each knob of chrysanthemum form, the copper mounts with flowers and stylised foliage, a fitted key - 22.8cm. x 23.7cm. x 23.4cm.

Note: This present lot is believed to be one of the smallest known examples of a Namban cabinet with a fall front.
The Europeans began to arrive in Japan from the late 16th century for trade and Christian missions. To furnish the Christian churches in Japan and also for export, Japanese lacquer workers produced a variety of decorative lacquer chests, coffers, boxes and other furniture, as well as ceremonial religious objects. They were largely in European form but decorated using Japanese techniques and in Japanese designs, sometimes mixed with Western patterns.
Namban lacquerwares were decorated in gold hiramaki-e and shell inlay as in this present lot. Their design is related to Kodaiji lacquer, a type of lacquerware made in Kyoto during the late Momoyama and early Edo periods, which is characterised by expansive and expressive designs in gold hiramaki-e on a roironuri, or black ground, and the favoured subject was flowers and plants. Western missionaries and merchants had opportunities to see Kodaiji lacquerwares and ordered the workshops to make the objects for them using the same design and techniques in freely-painted hiramaki-e. Namban pieces, however, generally employ dazzling shell inlay, which is never found in Kodaiji works and disappears after the Momoyama period. Their decorations are also denser than those of Kodaiji pieces and often combined with some Western patterns such as geometric borders.

For a similar, but slightly larger example, see James C.Y. Watt and Barbara B. Ford, East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, (New York, 1991), p. 226-7, no. 105.

For a larger example in the Oita City Historical Museum collection, go to Cultural Heritage Online (Japanese): http:/bunka.nii.ac.jp/SearchDetail.do?heritageId=75682; and further examples, see Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Art Namban: Les Portugais au Japon / Nambankunst: Portugezen in Japan, (Brussels, 1989), p. 85, 142, no. 51; Fundação Oriente, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Arte Namban: os portugueses no Japão, (Lisboa, 1990), p.53, 54 and 98, no. 49.

For another larger example, see Kyoto National Museum ed., Japan makie – kyuden wo kazaru toyo no kirameki – [Export Lacquer: Reflection of the West in Black and Gold Makie] (Osaka, 2008), p. 92, no. 46 (the Suntory Museum of Art collection).

For a further example in the Tokyo National Museum collection, 

For more information on the Namban lacquerware, see James C.Y. Watt and Barbara B. Ford, op. cit., p. 169-173; and for Namban cabinets, see Oliver Impey and Christiaan J. A. Jörg, Japanese Export Lacquer 1580 - 1850, (Amsterdam, 2005), p. 120-139. 

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