Lacquered wooden box with gilding maki-e Tengu characters Japan early 20th century
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Lacquered wooden box with maki-e* decoration of two characters, two Tengu** with their long noses, flying in the air, at the bottom a mountain, from Japan, from the early 20th century.
This box is in good condition and is of nice quality.
Please note: small stain on the lid (see last photo), some dirt, scratches and slight wear from time, see photos.
* Maki-e represents the most sophisticated technique in lacquer art, designating a decorative work where dust, particles of gold or silver are delicately sprinkled on still-wet lacquer, generally black, to create the pattern. The powder embedded between each layer of lacquer helps to highlight the decorations by illuminating them. Maki-e itself has given rise to a flowering of techniques specific to it. The first is without any relief (togidashi maki-e). The second offers a slight relief (hiramaki-e). The third type of decoration, which appeared in the Kamakura period (1185–1333), is distinguished by a strong relief (takamaki-e) obtained first by applying powders of dry lacquer, charcoal or tin and then by applying a treatment identical to that of Hiramaki-e. One of the greatest beauties of lacquer is that it adorns the most precious objects as well as the most everyday. Lacquer bowls and dishes have spanned the centuries, as have boxes with multiple uses: document boxes, tea boxes, incense boxes, brush boxes, ink boxes, card boxes, medicine boxes, etc. (Extract from Proantic magazine)
** Tengu are a type of legendary creature in Japanese folk religion. Belonging to the yokai family, they are also considered to be kami (or Shinto deities) ruling over mountains and forests. In art, tengu appear in a variety of forms, but they usually fall somewhere between a large monstrous bird and a fully anthropomorphic being, often with a red face or an abnormally large or broad nose. The oldest depictions of tengu show them as kites that can take human form, often with wings, a bird's head, or a beak. The long noses of tengu appear to have been conceived in the 14th century, as a humanization of their original bird beak. The long noses of tengu connect them with the Shinto deity Saruta-hiko.