Rectangular box made of Namban lacquer with mother-of-pearl inlays depicting rabbits among flowers, fruits and foliage.

This rectangular box is adorned with a rich design featuring rabbits and a pair of birds amidst stylized flowers, fruits and foliage, rendered in gold maki-e lacquer and mother-of-pearl inlays on a black lacquer background. The motifs extend across the various sides of the object and are arranged in compositions of plants and animals. It features beautiful ornamentation of finely chiseled and gilded bronze fittings and hinges, depicting figures on a bridge in a lakeside landscape, rocks, and plum trees, while the interior is covered in red lacquer that contrasts with the exterior.

This type of object belongs to the Namban style, which refers to lacquerware and furniture produced in Japan between the late 16th and early 17th centuries for export to Europe. Made using Japanese “urushi” lacquer, these pieces were primarily intended for Portuguese and Spanish merchants in the archipelago. These pieces bear witness to the trade between Japan and Europe during this period.