Property from the Paul and Helen Anbinder Collection A LACQUER WRITING BOXMeiji era (1868-1912), circa 1900 The rectangular box bearing a roiro-nuri ground decorated in gold hiramaki-e, e-nashiji, kirikane, kinpun , and hirame with pine trees and clouds, the edges and corners of the cover decorated with floral lozenges and sacred jewels, the interior with a hagoromo (feather mantle) and auspicious emblems in gold, silver, and brown hiramaki-e and togidashi maki-e with highlights of kirikane , the removable tray fitted with a silver water dropper cast as a floral lozenge and a rectangular inkstone 9 1/4 x 6 1/8 x 1 3/8in (23.5 x 15.5 x 3.5cm) The feather robe depicted inside the lid tells us that the decoration of this box is based on the late-medieval Noh drama Hagoromo . A localized version of a story of divine visitation that appears in many cultures around the world, Hagoromo tells of a fisherman who takes possession of a magical feather-mantle, left behind by a celestial nymph, which he finds hanging on a pine bough. The nymph demands its return and the fisherman agrees to give it back if she will dance for him. At the end of the play, she gradually disappears,