Writing Box with a Chintz Pattern, Inai Guokuho, c. 1910 - c. 1925
The graceful pattern on this box is derived from the colourful, woodblock-printed fabric (chintz, in Japanese sarasa), which the Dutch East India Company had brought to Japan in previous centuries. The cream-coloured ground reflects the natural colour of the cotton cloth. As white lacquer could not yet be produced, Gyokuho used ground shells for this.