The fitted three-tiered food boxes are entirely coated with black lacquer. The surface of the cover is diagonally divided. One section contains pampas grass and butterflies done in a combination of flat maki-e and low relief maki-e. The other contains a running pattern of squares, triangles and circles done in flat maki-e and mother-of-pearl inlay. To complement the cover design, the four sides of the boxes are also divided into two so that the two adjoining sides have pampas grass and butterflies and the remaining two sides have the running design. This piece of Namban lacquerware was probably used in Japan. It is a good example of a fusion of Western taste and traditional Japanese design.