Portable tea box with design of 100 flowers and 100 insects

Unryūan is today considered as one of Japan's leading contemporary lacquer artists. Working in the tradition of the Koami family, who served the Tokugawa Shogunate in the Edo period, Unryūan’s works preserve on the one hand sophisticated traditional lacquer techniques but are on the other hand imbued with a contemporary sense of aesthetics. The 'chabako' is created on a wood substrate in the extremely difficult 'yamimakie' technique of black on black lacquer. The ground is a lustrous 'rōiro', black ground, with decoration in 'tsuyakeshi makie', a technique whereby the natural lustre of lacquer is polished back to a matte finish, barely discernible against the reflective black background. A profusion of flowers cradle the surface of the box and interwoven throughout are tiny, fully detailed insects highlighted in gold 'takamakie'. The design of 100 flowers and 100 insects is based on a tea container by the Edo period lacquer master Hara Yōyūsai (1772-1845), which was originally i