EARLY JAPANESE LACQUER COSMETIC BOX (TEBAKO)

EARLY JAPANESE LACQUER COSMETIC BOX (TEBAKO), PROBABLY MUROMACHI PERIOD, decorated throughout in gold togidashi-e and inlaid in mother of pearl over gold hirame with carriage wheels and crashing waves, reserved against a black ground, the interior decorated with branches of plum, willow, maple and chrysanthemum, Chinese bellflowers, birds and butterflies, with twin wagon wheel form side handles and applied metal rims, 30cm wide, 13cm high, 22cm deep FOOTNOTE: This box closely resembles in shape, dimensions and design to a famous tebako now in the Tokyo National Museum which is registered as a National Treasure. The Tokyo example is reputed to be the earliest known example in lacquer of the motif of wooden wheels partially submerged in water, an image that is conventionally said to owe its origins to the practice of soaking the wheels of courtiers ceremonial ox-drawn carriages in the Kamo river to prevent them from drying out and warping. Another theory is that the wheels are derived from a passage in the Kammuryojukyo, a short Buddhist sutra describing the glories of Amida buddha and hi pure Land paradise, where lotus with flowers like carriage wheels are said to grow.