A RARE LACQUER SUZURIBAKO DEPICTING KOSHOHEI

A RARE LACQUER SUZURIBAKO DEPICTING KOSHOHEI Japan, 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of rectangular form with rounded corners and gold fundame edges, the nashiji ground finely decorated in gold and iro-e takamaki-e and kirigane with Koshohei wielding a cane, which he uses to turn a stone into a goat, the lower area densely sprinkled with gold, the immortal wearing loose-fitting robes and a black cap, standing under a gnarled pine tree. The interior of the cover with gold takamaki-e, iro-e kirigane, gold hiramaki-e, and silver dew drops to depict chrysanthemums and other flowers behind a fence against a nashiji ground. The interior of the box with a nashiji ground sparsely decorated in gold takamaki-e and hiramaki-e with maple leaves and fitted with an inkstone (suzuri), a partly gilt copper water-dropper (suiteki) of rounded lozenge form, and a tray for brushes and other utensils. SIZE 21.4 x 19.4 x 3.8 cm Condition: Good condition with old wear, minor flaking here and there, a small loss to one corner of the cover, some minor natural age cracks to corners, the underside with light scratches. Provenance: Ex-collection Claudio Perino, a collector with a keen interest in Japanese, Chinese and Far Eastern cultures. His collection consists of over 2000 works of art, partly loaned to the Museum of Oriental Arts (MAO) in Turin, Italy and to the Museo delle Culture (MUSEC) in Lugano, Switzerland. An exhibition of Kakemono scroll paintings was on view in the MUSEC until end of April 2021. Koshohei is a sennin based on the Chinese Daoist immortal Wong Tai Sin, known also as the Red Pine Immortal, who had the power to turn rocks into goats and who was found wandering by a nomadic priest. He is the divine form of Huang Chuping (c. 328-386), a Daoist hermit from Jinhua during the Eastern Jin dynasty.