Property from the Paul and Helen Anbinder Collection A MAGNIFICENT GOLD-LACQUER SET OF WRITING TABLE, DOCUMENT BOX, AND WRITING BOXMeiji (1868-1912) or Taisho (1912-1926) era, late 19th/ early 20th century prising a bundai of standard form with a kakego (inner tray), a ryōshibako or bunko with rounded corners and inrōbuta (flush-fitting) lid, and a suzuribako with kabusebuta (overhanging) lid, fitted with a nine-section ita (board) with a central frame for the suzuri (ink stone) and a recess for the suiteki (water dropper), the implementsprising two fude (brushes) with covers, a kiri (awl for piercing sheets of paper), and a tosu (paper knife); the decoration of all three mainponents depicting an episode from Hatsune (The First Warbler), Chapter 23 of Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji); the bundai with a panoramic view of the Rokujō Mansion and its environs with an uguisu (bush warbler) perched in a gnarled pine; the ryōshibako with an expanded view of the mansion grounds; the suzuribako with the garden and veranda of the mansion, with a warbler beside higeko ("whiskered baskets") on the veranda; all threeponents with scattered aoi-mon (hollyhock crests) of the ruling Tokugawa family; the wood substrate covered in fine gold hirame over black lacquer and decorated in several shades of gold and black hiramaki-e and gold takamaki-e and togidashi maki-e , with embellishments of hirame , kirigane , nashiji , uchikomi , and inlaid colored lacquer, the undersides of the covers of the boxes decorated with slight variations on the motif, the silver rectangular suiteki carved with scrolling vines, the suzuri with gold fundame edges, the non-pictorial interiors and the implements gold hirame and nashiji , the bundai hardware silvered metal; the bundai with a wood tomobako storage box with an inscription dated hinoe-tora (1926) Suzuribako 9 3/4 x 8 5/8 x 1 3/4in (24.2 x 21.6 x 4cm); ryōshibako 16 1/2 x 12 7/8 x 5 1/2in (41.7 x 32.7 x 13.8cm); bundai 12 3/8 x 23 7/8 x 5 3/8in (31.3 x 60.6 x 13.6cm) Provenance Sold in these rooms, March 19, 2014, lot 3194