A JAPANESE BLACK AND GILT-LACQUER CABINET ON A GILTWOOD STAND

Precious and costly Oriental lacquer, prized for its delicate decoration and polished surface, was among the luxurious and fashionable works of art imported to Europe by the Portuguese and Dutch East India Companies from the late 16th/early 17th century onwards. Works of art from Japan, including lacquer coffers, cabinets and other smaller items, were from 1637 exclusively exported by the VOC (Dutch East India Company) to Amsterdam, from where they would be transferred to Paris, London and other European centres. A superb example of these early shipments is Cardinal Mazarin’s celebrated lacquer coffer, purchased in 1658, recently acquired by the Rijksmuseum (AK-RAK-2013-3-1). Japanese lacquer cabinets such as the present model, with two doors and pictorial decoration with a black ground, were executed, often in Kyoto, from the mid-17th Century. For a comparable model see Michael S. Smith: Rooms as Portraits; sold Christie's, New York, 26 September 2018, lot 53 ($21,250, including premium).