A FINE MODEL OF THE 'TAKARABUNE ' WITH A SET OF THE SEVEN GODS OF GOOD FORTUNE

Description:

Japan, Edo/Meiji period, mid to late 19th c.
L. 61 cm
Of lacquered wood, the hull decorated in gold and aokin togidashi-e lacquer with a wood-graineffect, the gunwales gold nashiji, the rails red lacquer, the planks of the deck gold lacquer, the four supports of the central awning with floral designs, the canopy decorated with gold nashiji and the curtains of thin silvered metal sheet, the deck beneath the canopy finished in rattan, the canopy and gunwales also with aoi-mon in gold hiramaki-e, the removable prow in the form of a ho-o bird, the rudder and steering-post decorated in gold lacquer and gold flakes, the silver-lacquered stand modelled as waves, complete with a set of the Shichifukujin (Seven Gods of Good Fortune) comprising seven figures of bronze with coloured decoration, some with an indistinct stamped.
Bavarian private collection, acquired from Christie's, London, 14.11. 2001, lot 101 - Minor wear and partly only few small damages, lacquered wood stand