A FINE MINIATURE LACQUER KODANSU (SMALL CABINET)... Lot n° 36

A FINE MINIATURE LACQUER KODANSU (SMALL CABINET) DEPICTING BIRDS AND FLOWERS Japan, 18th-19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of rectangular form, the small incense cabinet with a single door with chased metal hinges and a functional lock mechanism opening to three drawers with silver-applied pinecone knobs. The exterior finely worked in gold fundame, takamaki-e, and hiramaki-e with kirigane flakes all on a fine roiro ground. Each panel depicting various birds and flowers including red-crowned cranes by a river beneath a plum tree, two owls roosting on a wisteria tree beneath a full moon, geese and autumnal grasses, and various birds on leafy bamboo stalks. The interior similarly decorated with more birds, the interior of the drawers and base of the cabinet worked in dense nashiji. SIZE 13.6 x 6.5 x 8.3 cm Condition: Very good condition with expected wear, some rubbing to the gold fundame from opening and closing, a few minor touchups to the lacquer along the edges. Provenance: Collection of the Glasgow Art Galleries & Museums, reg. no. 62-’05, with an old label to the bottom. Exhibited in 1905 at the People’s Palace Museum, Glasgow, according to an old label with the registration number, ‘AA515.’ A second museum label identifies the cabinet, ‘515. Cabinet, black lacquer, gold decorations. 18th century.’ Museum comparison: Compare a related gold incense cabinet with various birds, dated to the Edo period, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET), accession number 81.1.277a–d.