Existing comment:
Portable Cabinet with Drawers
16th century
Japan
Both of these cabinets were designed to appeal to European collectors. The fall-front lid of the German cabinet reveals six skeletal geometries executed in perspective to resemble stylish designs by famed goldsmith Wenzel Jamnitzer. The equally desirable Japanese nanban lacquer on the larger cabinet has been adapted to a European form; the configuration of the drawers matches those in the cabinet displayed beside it. Nanban, meaning "southern barbarian," was used in Japan to designate objects made for foreign markets, and referred to the southern route European trade ships took to reach Japan. |