JAPANESE LACQUERED COVERED BOWL

Meiji period, C.1880. 5” diameter. Tomato red body color in and out. Broad foot and matching broad top grip. Top decorated in foliage and flower. The underside of the top in two butterflies. the decoration of carved lacquer with the motifs incised through the outer layers of lacquer into the gold color underlayers. That technique required extreme skill as the lacquer is but a few thousandths of an inch thick and an over cut would result in revealing the wood core.. Excellent throughout for the period. True lacquer, not paint, which took weeks to cure during application. Charming