Square box with a lid of the Japanese fushibako shape

This square box with a slightly domed lid that overlaps half its body is reminiscent of boxes for fushi, the black tooth paint used by married women as make-up; such boxes were called fushibako. This box’s decoration is concentrated on the lid and depicts an imaginary landscape with a rock, bamboo gate and pavilion – the belfry of a Buddhist temple. The natural motifs are complemented with a prunus and bamboo. The scene has the atmosphere of a dreamy, deserted landscape, a common decorative style used for European clients. In Japan, however, it was not often used. Thus, despite its Japanese shape, the box may very well have been earmarked for European customers. (See Filip Suchomel and Marcela Suchomelová: A Surface Created for Decoration, Prague 2002, pp. 144–145)