A kobako [small box] | Edo period, 19th century

One of Freddie’s last purchases of urushi lacquer was a small box (tebako) in utilising multiple techniques in a minor tour deforce (namely iroe hiramaki, takamaki, nashiji , hirame on a silver roironuri ground) and depicting inro, a coin purse, and a sake flask and an obi, which dates to the 19^th century. The object’s number in the Christie, Manson & Woods sales catalogue (313) was the only one circled in Freddie’s catalogue, and while the prices achieved at the auction on the surrounding items were handwritten next to the other entries, no price was recorded for this box. Instead, there was a separate receipt for the work slipped into the catalogue, dated 11 Nov 1991, only 13 days before Freddie’s death. The box fetched over the estimate and the bill was recorded as being settled by Freddie on the 12 November 1991.