Japanese Papier Mache Lacquer Box with Interior Scenes carved animal and very sweet

and very sweet

Perfect for carrying swimming goggles

It was purchased from an estate sale that included a wonderful collection of mid-century and contemporary ceramics from Japan

in the original box

What I find especially intruiging about it are the cartoonish pyrograph designs

Japanese Papier Mache Lacquer Box with Interior Scenes carved animal and very sweetI am fairly certain this lovely small Japanese lacquer on papier mache box dates to Meiji period, which extended from 1868 to 1912. It features wonderfully detailed depictions of interior scenes, including figures in beautifully decorated kimonos sitting and eating, all rendered in gold, white and black against red. I just love the specificity of the imagery, down to the facial expressions of each figure, and the overall effect it creates of glimpsing