A SUPERB INLAID LACQUER TEBAKO AND COVER DEPICTING A KABUTO WITH KUWAGATA AND DRAGON MAEDATE Japan, 19th century Of rectangular form, the roiro ground finely decorated in iro-e takamaki-e with a hoshi-bachi kabuto, the kuwagata maedate with inome (`boar`s eyes`) is inlaid with gilt metal, the helmet is centered by a well-carved dragon maedate with neatly incised mane, the exterior edges of gold nashiji, the interiors and base of nashiji, the interior edges of gold fundame. SIZE 13 x 24.4 x 19.8 cm Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, few tiny age cracks to lacquer only on the interior, few minuscule areas of lacquer flaking to edges. Minor wear to gilt-metal inlays. Provenance: The Strong National Museum of Play, accession number 74.185.86 (lacquered to the interior of the cover). Margaret Woodbury Strong (1897-1969) grew up in a prosperous family of collectors. Her interests ranged so widely that by 1960 she had amassed more than 27,000 collectible items and works of art. The vast majority of her collections related in some way to play and as her accumulation grew, Margaret planned a museum to house her collection. It eventually opened to the public in 1982, and grew dramatically over the following decades, expanding its collections, facilities, and resources, now spanning over 285,000 square feet. Today, the Strong National Museum of Play (known as just The Strong Museum or simply The Strong) is the only collections-based museum in the world devoted solely to the study of play. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related red-lacquered tebako and cover with a near-identical kabuto, dated Taisho to early Showa period, early 20th century, at Christie`s, 21 March 2012, New York, lot 933 ( sold for 6,875 USD ).