A VERY RARE INLAID LACQUER ‘SAMURAI CAPYBARA’ BOX AND COVER

拍品描述

A VERY RARE INLAID LACQUER ‘SAMURAI CAPYBARA’ BOX AND COVER Japan, second half of the 20th century, Showa period (1926-1989) Of rectangular form with gently rounded edges, bearing a lustrous roiro lacquer ground finely decorated in gold takamaki-e and inlaid with pewter, coral and mother-of-pearl. The cover depicts an anthropomorphic capybara dressed in samurai attire, its katana secured at the waist, striding through windblown grasses, the animal rendered with a characteristically serene expression. The interior is similarly finished in finely polished roiro with gold fundame rims. HEIGHT 5.5 cm, LENGTH 15.8 cm The capybara, the world’s largest living rodent, is native to the wetlands and river systems of South America. Capybaras were introduced to Japanese zoos during the 1960s, with Izu Shaboten Zoo recording that it began keeping and breeding the animals in 1966, at a time when they remained exceedingly rare in Japan. Their calm disposition, sociable behavior, and distinctive appearance gradually endeared them to the Japanese public, and they later became celebrated throughout the country in zoos, popular culture, character design, and decorative art. The present box is an exceptionally unusual early artistic interpretation of the animal, humorously combining an exotic species with the traditional imagery of the Japanese samurai.

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