Japanese lacquer sewing box, circa 1700-1730

This rare, rectangular, slightly curved sewing box rests on a gently rounded base with flowing lines.
Its domed lid, covered in gold-embroidered fabric, once served as a pincushion.
Made of black lacquer, it is decorated in maki-e style with gold and copper, depicting landscapes enlivened by pavilions and stylized pine trees on rocky outcrops.
The front, punctuated by a polylobed lock, features a design of pagodas and hills in the foreground; the sides repeat this same refined vocabulary, punctuated with delicate touches of red.
The corners are protected by small, engraved copper spandrels.

In excellent condition.

Japan, probably Nagasaki, Edo period, circa 1700-1730.

Dimensions:
Width: 37 cm; Depth: 22 cm; Height: 13 cm

A similar box is held at the Institute of Central Bohemia (inv. no. J70) in the Czech Republic. It is featured in the book "Japanese Export Lacquer" (page 39). Authors Olivier Impey and Christiaan Jörg explain that only two examples of this shape are known and suggest that, due to its rarity, it may have been commissioned for the families of officers of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).