Incense container – jinbako

On a nashiji ground rendered in low-relief makie is the type of scrollwork known as karakusa (“Chinese foliage”), with its abundant leaves and tendrils. Amidst this design are freely-placed, stylized, four-petaled hanabishi flower diamonds also rendered in gold and silver makie. The inside of the box is similarly lacquered in nashiji. On either side of the container are copper mounts displaying hanabishi motifs. Jinbako is a form of a box for the storage of a variety of incenses, or for dishes to scent rooms with aromatic smoke. (See Filip Suchomel and Marcela Suchomelová: A Surface Created for Decoration, Prague 2002, pp. 258–259)