Go board-shaped Lidded Box with Maki-e of Phoenix

At first glance, it may seem like a Go board cut out of wood blocks, but it is made using a Japanese lacquer decoration “maki-e” technique, with gold powder sprinkled on top and staggered lines of the chessboard drawn with black lacquer. Given the sticky consistency of natural lacquer, drawing one stroke to the end is highly challenging. It takes years of experience to make this piece of lacquerware with the uniformity of thickness and verticality of the lines drawn on it.

Using silver powder as the main body, the maki-e in the board’s interior presents “Old Pine Tree and White Phoenix” by Itō Jakuchū, a Japanese painter of the mid-Edo period. The interior of the lid is covered with gold sheets, silver sheets and raden, using natural lacquer as glue. It shows the signature design of Hikoju maki-e, which represents prayers for the fusion of all phenomena.