Japanese Gold Lacquer Boxes | 4 January - 12 February 2016

I am pleased to announce that our latest exhibition of Japanese Gold- Lacquer Boxes will open this Saturday, December 5, featuring more than 30 works dating from the 18th century to the present day. Our selection focuses on items suited to the daily lives of Japan's upper classes: suzuribako (writing boxes), natsume (tea caddies), kobako (miniature incense containers), and tebako(accessory boxes), all of them with exquisite decoration in the full range of maki-e ("sprinkled-picture") techniques unique to Japan.

Adorned with designs drawn from classical literature and the natural environment, these masterpieces of traditional Japanese art offer glimpses of a refined culture that continues to thrive today. Many of them are accompanied by their tomobako wooden storage boxes, signed and inscribed by the artist.