Box with fitted cover

17th century

Branches of blossoming plum in contrasting inlays of lead and luminous mother-of-pearl form a continuous design that extends over the sides and lid of this box. Koetsu's (1558-1637) innovations in lacquer designs are well documented. The decoration on this box, however, appears to have been based not on an original design by Koetsu, but on the motifs printed in mica on the covers of the woodblock-printed libretti for No performances that were produced after 1604 by the wealthy merchant and scholar Suminokura Soan (1571-1632), in collaboration with Koetsu. The books displayed in this care are examples of the books, known as Sagabon, published by Soan and often based on Koetsu's calligraphy and designs.