Cabinet Namban; Japan, Momoyama Period, XVI- XVII centuries.

Namban Cabinet; Japan, Momoyama Period, XVI- XVII centuries.
Lacquered wood, gilt and mother-of-pearl.
It has slight flaws.
Measurements: 32 x 43 x 29 cm.
Desk of uncovered sample raised on four legs of circular base, which has two handles on the sides for placement on the hearth, made of metal and decorated. The sides and top of the piece of furniture are delicately decorated with flowers, stems and leaves, accompanied and highlighted with mother-of-pearl inlays, like the rest of the decoration of the piece. The front of this "wastebasket" (given that it was normally used to store important documents and different pieces of value) is divided horizontally into three registers: above, two drawers; in the center, a central piece reminiscent of the chapels of European desks of the period (which, however, is a drawer), flanked by two rectangular drawers on each side; below, a drawer. This front also shows a delicate decoration, on a black background, based on floral and vegetal elements with details in mother-of-pearl inlay, as well as metal parts (rear handles) for the drawers, decorated in black on the inside.
Namban art is known as the Japanese art of the XVI and XVII centuries that shows a clear influence of currents brought to the country by the so-called "namban" (southern barbarians), missionaries and European traders (mostly Portuguese), and also to the paintings brought to Japan by these same Europeans. Among all the objects, the screens are usually highlighted for their quality, although paintings, furniture, etc. were also produced, often decorated with a layer of lacquer and with elements of Japanese tradition but with European details or, at least, "foreign to the orbit of this country". The two largest collections of Namban art are kept in the Kobe Municipal Museum in Japan and in the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon (Portugal).
Thus, it is possible to compare the present example with both Portuguese and Spanish uncovered sample desks of the period. In the Spanish case, it is slightly reminiscent of Salamanca models still linked to the Gothic and Renaissance (particularly those with columns) because of the arrangement of the drawers in the front (specifically, that difference between the registers that would be eliminated in models more related to the Renaissance and later Baroque).
It is possible to find examples slightly similar to the present one, mostly preserved in important private collections, with some comparable work in the National Museum of Decorative Arts of Portugal, in the collections of the Royal Heritage of England, etc.