A superb Japanese ivory cabinet on stand

A superb Japanese ivory cabinet on stand, the freestanding cabinet covered with silver mounts and hinges and sitting on a tortoiseshell stand again decorated with silver mounts. The cabinet, with drawers and doors, is entirely made with ivory, which is very rare, as normally they would have used another material, such as lacquer, with ivory panels, also, the construction of the drawers are unusual as they have been made from one solid piece of ivory.

The stand is highly decorative and beatifully made being in four sections with the top being covered in tortoiseshell with gilt decoration, silver mounts, and a centre panel of Hiramaki-e, on three sides there is an ivory fence which is also partly covered with gilt decoration. This sits on another panel covered in tortoiseshell and silver mounts, again decorated with gilt decoration with a number of flying cranes, this on another tortoiseshell panel with silver mounts and gilt decorated with waves. This section is supported on four ivory brackets onto elephant trunks, decorated with the conforming gilt decoration which is painted on both the stand and the cabinet itself. This then sits on a lacquer stand, again with matching gilt decoration, onto bracket feet.

The combination of the cabinet and stand show this piece would have come from one of the top workshops of the time and is of the highest quality.

The cabinet is decorated throughout, the top with two peacocks, a male and female, whilst in the left hand corner are chrysanthemums. Inside on the right is a set of three drawers each having a gilded edged panel with two cranes, on the left are two small sliding doors decorated with trees and bushes. The insides of both doors are decorated, one with Mount Fuji and trees, the other with a number of mountains, trees and three houses.

The front of the cabinet has two sliding doors at the top, the left one with Mount Fuji, with trees and smaller hills in the foreground, carrying across onto the other door with hills and trees, forming one continuous picture. The two main doors of the cabinet are locked by a rotating fan decorated with flying cranes and flowers, each door is decorated with samurai, ferns, bamboo and other flowers, over a single drawer with two silver handles and decorated with various sized turtles swimming amongst rocks.

The back and two sides have a continuous decoration running round them of children playing, the left hand side with two children trying to fly a kite, above them a tree with a flying crane.

The rear panel has a group of four children playing with a variety of toys amongst trees, with three flying cranes amongst the branches of the tree, whilst the right hand side has two children playing with a spinning top, again with a single flying crane amongst the tree, around the base of sides and rear is a grassy mound with ferns. The decoration to the cabinet has been well thought out and executed.

Whether you are a collector of Japanese objects, ivory pieces or just wonderful items, this would be a marvellous object to include in your collection.

Stock Number: 83239/br1009
£19,500

Height: 14.5 in / 36.83 cm
Width: 11.5 in / 29.21 cm
Depth: 7 in / 17.78 cm