A japanese lacquered kodansu 日本漆器小櫃

18th to 19th century

A compact three drawer kodansu with a side door, finished in a lustrous ro iro ground and decorated in gold and silver hiramaki e and takamaki e, enriched with kirikane, with a continuous design of lotuses in a pond against mura nashiji. The interior of the door is painted with Kannon in meditation on a rocky outcrop beside foaming waters. The mounts chased with scrolling foliage on a nanako ground, with gilt copper pulls and handles formed as chrysanthemum rings and buds.

Kodansu, or small portable cabinets, developed in Japan as refined miniature counterparts to full scale tansu chests, combining practical storage with highly sophisticated surface design. Emerging in the late Muromachi and Momoyama periods and flourishing in the Edo period, they were used to store documents, writing implements, seals, medicines, and personal valuables. Their architectural structure of drawers and concealed compartments offered lacquer artists an opportunity to create continuous pictorial programmes across multiple planes, while metal mounts became integral decorative element rather than purely functional fittings. This example is particularly distinguished by the coherence of its design, the technical assurance of its gold and silver lacquer work, and the quality of its chased mounts, which together elevate it beyond a utilitarian object into a cabinet conceived as a complete aesthetic statement.