Namban trunk; Japan, Momoyama Period, c. 1600.

Namban trunk; Japan, Momoyama Period, c. 1600.
Lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl and gold dust.
It shows wear on the lid, loss of inlays and missing lock.
Measurements: 55 x 91,5 x 46 cm.
Japanese Namban trunk from the Renaissance period, with mother-of-pearl inlay and gold dust. The piece presents a typology characteristic of this type of work with a rectangular body and hemispherical lid. It is completed with two handles on each side that allow a better transport. This piece of furniture is representative of the contact between Japan and the West during the period of trade and cultural exchange known as the "Namban period" (16th and 17th centuries). This term, which means "southern barbarians" in Japanese, refers to the Portuguese and Spanish traders and missionaries who arrived in Japan during this time. The inlay or inlaid mother-of-pearl in the form of vegetal bouquets is characteristic of this type of trunk. The wooden box was lacquered and iron corner pieces and hinges ornamented as well as reinforced the piece of furniture. The decorative motifs combine Japanese elements with Western tastes: flowers, birds, stylized landscapes, and geometric designs of local tradition. These trunks were commissioned by missionaries, merchants or European nobles to be used as storage chests, reliquaries, or even as decorative luxury pieces. They were also used to transport precious objects such as textiles, documents or religious utensils.
During the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600), Japan opened its doors to foreign trade with the Portuguese and Spanish. This exchange included not only goods, but also artistic ideas, techniques and liturgical objects.
The introduction of Christianity into Japan influenced the subject matter of some of these trunks, which were used as status symbols among Christian daimios or to store religious objects. With the closure of Japan to foreign contact during the Edo period (from 1639), the production of such objects declined, and the existing ones acquired greater historical and artistic value.

Many Namban trunks are preserved in Asian and European art museums, such as the Oriental Art Museum in Lisbon, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the National Museum in Tokyo.