Dresser with Mirror in Lacquered Black, Japan, 1880s

Elegant tansu or desktop dressing table (Kyôdai), although it can also serve as a jeweler. Made during the Meiji period (1868 – 1912), with wood and lacquered soul in black, as usual in oriental art.

Strictly speaking, Tansu is a traditional Japanese mobile storage cabinet, usually destined to store the kimonos. Tansu ended up becoming an icon of Japanese culture and his daily life, so he brought his concept to smaller and more manageable sizes, such as this case, so that it was easily transportable. In other cases, they adopted a more similar way to that of a chest, very common during the Edo period.

Present five records or drawers of different sizes. The two superiors horizontally and the lower two share space with a fifth square. The superiors are equipped with slender handle handles in the form of “hirute” and the lower three with decorative shooters. The front and rear presents oval handles to facilitate transport.

On its upper part is a bronze hand mirror, known as “ekagami”, decorated with motif Chinese -style hopping or gable (Karahafu) raised up. All this adorned with leaves and bouquets of Wisteria or Glycinia flowers that hang. In the right area the registration can be seen.

It comes from a private Japanese art collector from the Netherlands.

About Japanese bronze mirrors.
This type of Japanese bronze mirrors derive from Chinese models. The part that reflects is smooth and pulled, while the opposite is the one that presents the decorative motifs. They were a usual gift at weddings. They were frequently decorated with longevity symbols (bamboo, phoenix …), symbols that served to reinforce the desire for health and long and prosperous life for those who received this gift.

Base dimensions: 33 x 31 x 42 cm

Mirror dimensions: 30 x 18 x 0.5 cm

Total height (base with mirror): 60 cm