Important cultural property
Originally, the low desk was used to hold paper for writing poetry. Finished in nashi-ji pear-skin decoration, the top panel depicts chrysanthemums growing on mounds of earth. The flowers are rendered in burnished togidashi maki-e and low relief takamaki-e with pieces of cut gold and silver (kirikane) and kanagai metal inlays. Kirikane is also added to the petals, which are drawn in fine lines of lacquer followed by a sprinkling of gold powder (tsukegaki). The four corners of the top panel and the gold and copper fittings on the long side feature halved chrysanthemum patterns that complement the formal chrysanthemum motif. The sparse composition, which uses raised maki-e, kirikane, kanagai, and other techniques, while leaving half of the panel blank is characteristic of the Muromachi period. The object is valuable as an example of an early low desk.
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