An extremely fine, elegant and rare late 17th Century Japanese lacquer cabinet, from the Eco period, on lacquered black stand.Japanese circa 1690ProvenanceA private Scottish collectionThis outstanding cabinet is a fascinating fusion of east and west. The cabinet itself would have been made in Japan, c.1690, and is decorated to the outside with hiramaki-e lacquer. This technique involves the use of sprinkled gold powder which adheres to the lacquer surface. On the best pieces, as with this example, many layers are added in order to create areas of high relief and give depth to the surface decoration. The taste of the Japanese workshops in this period was often for quite restrained pieces with plenty of the black background visible, unlike some of the busier Chinese lacquer or European japanned examples produced around the same time. The Japanese makers seemed content to rely on the outstanding quality of the lacquer itself, regarded by most experts as the finest lacquer ever produced, and did not see the need to cover every surface believing that less was more in this respect. The lacquer here is used to produce a mountainous scene with temples on the bank of a river, the other side of the river with more temples and a contrasting flatter and forested landscape. The fine perspective achieved is the result of the clever use of raised and flatter areas in the lacquer itself in combination with the drawing of the design itself.Another remarkable aspect of this piece is the fine metalware throughout, but particularly the lockplate / hasp, hinges and foot mounts to the front. This is all beautifully cast and engraved contrasting against the black background. Interestingly another cabinet on stand with near identical metalwork was advertised in the Burlington Magazine, November 1913, with the dealer W. Williamson and Sons of Guildford. The lacquer on that piece is similarly refined and it seems likely that both pieces came from the same workshop.The European influence in our piece can be seen in the late 18th Century black Japanned stand which is designed in ''the Modern'' Chinese fashion popularised by Thomas Chippendale''s, Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker''s Director, 1754. The Japanning to the inside doors consists of two panels with birds of prey perched on branches in colours set against a golden background. The cabinet has a recent Scottish provenance and so it is likely that the ebonised stand was made in Britain after Chippendales ''The Modern'' Chinese fashion. Inside the cabinet there is a combination of more Japanese lacquer and lock plates and European drawer handles. Most of the lacquer drawer fronts incorporate mountainous scenes and birds in combination, with a few purely one or the other of the two subjects. Again the lacquer is in excellent condition and is of exceptional quality with multiple layers of relief used in one single scene in many cases.These early Japanese lacquer cabinets always have integral feet a...