Incense Cabinet

This small portable cabinet may have stored incense woods and utensils used in games in which competitors would try to identify different mixtures of incense.  All surfaces of the cabinet, including the hidden sides of the drawers, are decorated with sprinkled gold and silver over lacquer, a technique known as maki-e. Nuances of color are produced by the underlying lacquer: silver dust over red lacquer produces a lavender tone; silver dust over black lacquer produces a blue tone. The background is covered with gold powder embedded in lacquer and burnished to a smooth finish that appears to be solid gold. Traditional lacquer techniques reached a peak of technical quality and diversity during the nineteenth century.