MASONIC INTEREST: JAPANESE RED LACQUER BOX 19TH CENTURY of rectangular form, the hinged lid inlaid with abalone and mother-of-pearl depicting Masonic motifs, opening to a void interior (38cm wide, 9cm high, 24cm deep) Footnote: Provenance: The Earls of Crawford and Balcarres, Balcarres House, Fife, Scotland Note: The iconography inlaid to the centre of the box lid relates to Masonic symbols specific to Scottish Rite. Errors or variances in the original designs are evident in the iconography of the symbols of the left of the panel, a common occurrence with Japanese and Chinese commissioned work for the European market at the time. The reason for the commission is unclear however the date suggests it may have been commissioned by James Lindsay 24 th Earl of Crawford (1783-1869). Whilst it is not known if he was a mason, his father was Grand Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland from 1780-1782 and it can only be presumed he was as well. The symbols in general indicate a high ranking in the Grand Lodge of Scotland and may have been a gift to the Earl.