A black-lacquer cabinet


Edo period (1615-1868), early-mid 19th centuryOf standard form with detachable drop-front cover, supported on a scalloped dais, the entire exterior finished in black ro-iro lacquer and decorated in inlay of shell and lead with five cranes in Rinpa style, the door-catch of gilt metal in the form of a tasselled horagai (priest's conch-shell)With a lacquered-wood tomobako storage box 19 3/4 x16 x 10 3/4in (50.2 x 40.6 x 27.3cm)
|This cabinet is a manifestation of the revival of the Rinpa style that took root in the early nineteenth century around the anniversary of the death of Ogata Korin (1658-1716), after whom "Rinpa" takes its name; see Matthew P. McKelway, Silver Wind: The Arts of Sakai Hoitsu (1761–1828), New York, Japan Society, 2012, cat. no. 18, for a two-panel screen painted with similar cranes from the brush of Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828). The Japan Society catalogue also illustrates a pair of six-panel screens by Korin himself and refers to earlier versions of this subject by Tawaraya Sotatsu (died circa 1640) and Hon'ami Koetsu (1558-1637), hinting at the long history that lies behind the decoration of the present lot.