A Black-lacquer suzuribako (box for writing utensils)
Edo period (1615-1868) or Meiji era (1868-1912), mid-late 19th centuryThe polished black roiro kabusebuta (overlapping lid) decorated in gold hiramaki-e and discreetly inlaid details of kirikane with a hossu (ritual fly whisk) wrapped around a dragon-head handled cane leaning over a kyokuroku (Buddhist monk's chair), the interior of the lid and box of rich nashiji, the frame and baseboard fitted with a suzuri (ink-grinding stone) and a gilt-bronze suiteki (water-dropper) in the form of a pair of kutsu (shoes), unsigned, the rims mounted in silver; with a wood storage box attached with a paper label inscribed Ikkyu Zenshi rusu moyo maki-e suzuribako... (Maki-e writing box with the design alluding to the absence of the Zen Buddhist monk Ikkyu). 4.3cm x 19cm x 20.5cm (1 5/8in x 7?in x 8 1/16in). (8).
注脚
The elements depicted on this box without a sitter are a variant on the canonical chinso commemorative portraits of Zen masters, painted or sculpted, usually represented in ceremonial dress and seated upright on a chair. Ikkyu Zenshi (1394-1481), one such Zen masters, was renowned for his combination of deep spirituality and superficially eccentric habits.