Japan Ryukyu Islands, lacquer pannel, 17 / 18th century

Large and rare lacquer pannel with a black background. Mother-of-pearl marquetry decor showing phoenix and peonies.
Japan, 17th / 19th century.
European feet from the 20th century.
The Ryukyu Islands, which form an arc stretching from Kyushu to Taiwan, have been known as the Okinawa Islands since the annexation by the Japanese in 1872. The Ryukyu Islands had close ties with China since the Ming dynasty and an artistic link with the continent that will last with the artisans of these islands. The sea provided the materials for the lacquer encrusted with mother-of-pearl which has become their specificity. In the early 17th century, a new mother-of-pearl inlay technique was introduced which involved boiling the mollusks and peeling off very thin layers of mother-of-pearl, which resulted in increased iridescence when the pieces were inlaid in the lacquer.
Although great controversy remains over the attribution of certain lacquer pieces to China or the Ryukyu, the current panel and its decorative scheme suggest an attribution to the making of Ryukyu.
Glass top for protection.

Watt, J.C.Y. and Ford, B.B. East Asian Lacquer, The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1991, p. 329
Watt, J.C.Y. and Ford, B.B. op. cit. p. 336