japanese lacquer

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The obverse of the case depicts Benzatein (or Benten), one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune. The case has a gold kinji lacquer ground and is decorated in gold, silver, black and red takamaki-e with an encrustation of stained ivory. The reverse depicts a hanging basket of flowers. It is inscribed 無銘, and dates from 1890. In Japanese mythology Benzatein is one of the Seven Gods of Good Luck; she is the patron goddess of literature and music, wealth, and femininity. Generally associated with the sea, she is frequently depicted riding on, or accompanied by, a sea dragon and playing the biwa, a kind of lute as in this depiction.