Imperial Presentation Box
Item number: T-3052Size: H 5.7" x L 10.2" x W 8.5" (14.5 x 26 x 21.5 cm)
Age: 1910s
This exquisite imperial document box or bunko with rounded corners and brightly polished kinji gold lacquer ground was used as an imperial presentation box. On top is the imperial chrysanthemum mark, executed in takamakie high-relief gold lacquer, showing that the piece was commissioned for the imperial household, for use as a gift in a presentation ceremonies.
The rims are made of solid silver and the decoration depicts the symbols of imperial rule, chrysanthemum flowers, together with an assortment of autumnal flowers, all in takamakie high-relief lacquer, using silver and various hues of gold lacquer. Cut pieces of kirigane gold foil are inlaid next to the flowers, providing bright accents. The inside and the bottom are lacquered with a dense application of nashiji gold flakes. The lacquer document box was presented together with a simple and refined black-lacquered kiri-wood box, made to fit the gold lacquer box precisely.
Gold lacquer presentation boxes were regularly commissioned by the imperial household, and leading artists have been active in the making of these boxes since the Meiji period. A number of museums contain such works, including the Baur Collection in Geneva, Switzerland, which possesses document boxes of a similar size and shape, adorned with the imperial chrysanthemum crest.1
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