Japanese Lacquer Box with Maki-e Swallows & Reed Decoration – Meiji, c.1900

This box has a story to tell, and it tells it entirely in gold on red lacquer. Which is, frankly, the best way to tell a story.

This is a Japanese lacquer box (bako) from the Meiji period, circa 1900, decorated in the maki-e technique — one of the most labour-intensive and revered art forms in Japanese craft. In maki-e, gold powder is carefully sprinkled onto wet urushi lacquer to build up an image layer by layer. The result on this box is a masterclass in the form: two swallows in full flight above a landscape of swaying reeds and bamboo stalks, with a crescent moon rising in the upper corner. The foreground is rendered in deep black lacquer with a textured, granular surface suggesting water or earth, while the background glows in deep cinnabar red. The border of the lid is decorated with chrysanthemum roundels and gold scrollwork on a dark ground — a classic Meiji decorative vocabulary.

The box itself is substantial and well-made: rounded square form with a fitted lid, original brass hinges and clasp, and a blue-grey lacquered interior. The sides show the characteristic silver-toned lacquer finish typical of export-quality Meiji pieces.

There is some age-related lacquer cracking on the side — visible in the photographs — consistent with the natural ageing of urushi lacquer over 120+ years. This is a known characteristic of antique Japanese lacquerware and does not affect the lid decoration, which remains vivid and intact.

• Technique: Urushi lacquer with maki-e gold decoration
• Decoration: Swallows in flight, reeds, crescent moon, chrysanthemum border
• Origin: Japan — Meiji period
• Dimensions: 20 × 18 × 7.5 cm
• Weight: 340 g
• Circa: 1900
• Fittings: Original brass hinges and clasp
• Condition: Good antique condition; lacquer cracking on side — see photographs. Lid decoration intact.

Use it as a jewellery box, a keepsake box, a decorative object on a console table, or simply as a reminder that in 1900, even a storage box was a work of art.

⚠️ WARNING: Once you own a maki-e lacquer box, every other box in your house will feel deeply embarrassed about itself. Maison de L’oro accepts no responsibility for any subsequent reorganisation of your storage solutions, the purchase of additional Japanese lacquerware, or the sudden urge to display your paperclips in something more dignified.