A FINE INLAID LACQUER ‘MINAMOTO NO NAKAKUNI PLAYING THE FLUTE’ SUZURIBAKO (WRITING BOX)

拍品描述

A FINE INLAID LACQUER ‘MINAMOTO NO NAKAKUNI PLAYING THE FLUTE’ SUZURIBAKO (WRITING BOX) Japan, 18th-19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of rectangular form with rounded edges, finely decorated in iro-e takamaki-e and hiramaki-e on a darkened nashiji ground. The kabusebuta (overhanging) lid depicts Minamoto no Nakakuni playing the flute outside a gate, his horse grazing nearby, the abumi (stirrups) inlaid with aogai (mother-of-pearl). The interior of the lid is charmingly decorated with a scene of two anthropomorphic monkeys in conversation, one wearing a sambaso headdress and the other holding a gohei wand, a peach between the two monkeys. The interior is further adorned with aquatic ferns against a nashiji ground, with silver-mounted rims, and fitted with two removable trays, a conch-shaped copper water dropper (suiteki), and an inkstone (suzuri). SIZE 4.3 x 24 x 22 cm With a wood tomobako (storage box). The decoration is inspired by an episode from the Heike monogatari (The Tale of the Heike). Lady Kogo, renowned for her beauty, became a favored consort of Emperor Takakura (r. 1168–1180), but was forced into exile in Sagano as a result of court intrigue. The Emperor, longing for her, dispatched the courtier Minamoto no Nakakuni to find her. Upon locating her retreat, Nakakuni arrived by night and, hearing her playing the koto, announced his presence by responding on the flute. This poetic moment of longing and reunion, set under the moonlight, became a popular subject in Japanese art and is sensitively evoked in the present composition. Auction comparison: Compare a related lacquer suzuribako depicting Nakakuni playing the flute, dated 19th century, 3.8 x 22.5 x 20.9 cm, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese and Korean Art including property from the Collection of Drs, 22 July 2020, New York, lot 960 (sold for USD 2,805 or approx. EUR 3,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).

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