A Museum Quality Japanese Lacquer Tobacco Box
February 2013 Auction by Far East Asian Art

This is one of the most unusual Japanese lacquer pieces we have ever seen or had in the collection. The box is a Tobacco Box – “tabako ire) made in the shape of an eggplant. It is a papier mache form made over a mold and then coated with multiple layers of black roiro lacquer with overtones of purple. As a result of the method of making the box, it is quite light and rather delicate. The process of making it is best described in the book “A Sprinkling of Gold” – see later paragraphs...