THIS Japanese lacquer coffer from the Momoyama or early Edo period (1590-1625) was sold by Charterhouse of Sherborne on February 17 for £55,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium).
Estimated at £5000-10,000, it was offered for sale on behalf of a London-based client who had kept it in storage in Reading. It was bought by a London dealer.
Europeans admired lacquer for its hardness and lustre, which had no equivalent in western decorative arts. From the late 16th century, when Europeans began to arrive in Japan for trade and Christian missions, Japanese craftsmen developed a style of lacquer especially for export.