A FINE AND RARE GOLD LACQUER SUZURIBAKO DEPICTING A DRAGON, TIGERS, AND A LEOPARD (FEMALE TIGER) Japan, 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of rectangular form, bearing a gold nashiji ground, the overhanging cover with canted gold fundame edges, finely decorated in predominantly gold as well as silver and black takamaki-e and kirigane with a central lobed panel enclosing a fierce dragon clutching a tama pearl and writhing around craggy rockwork amid crashing waves, its scales neatly picked out in matte gold and silver lacquer while the pearl, horns, eyes, spikes, and flames are lacquered a lustrous gold, all against a sparser nashiji on roiro ground, the panel surrounded by thick reishi clouds with gold kirigane flakes. The interior of the cover similarly decorated to depict a wildly roaring tiger seated on a rocky outcrop beside a mother tiger resembling a leopard and its young, the ground and swirling waves with nashiji and continuing onto the sides. The baseboard fitted with a rectangular tray similarly decorated with a craggy rock, blossoming plum, and bamboo leaves, as well as a panel holding the signed suzuri (inkstone) and metal suiteki (waterdropper) incised with flowers. Note the skillful use of different kinds of nashiji and shades of gold, adding a particularly rich quality to this fine lacquer suzuribako. SIZE 4 x 20.8 x 19.1 cm Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, few light surface scratches. Provenance: Dutch collection. With a wood storage box. The dragon and tiger are symbols of the two opposing and yet complimentary forces of yin and yang. The dragon, a mythical animal thought to reign over the heavens, stands for yang. The tiger, respected in ancient China as the mightiest of the wild beasts, stands for yin. They are often paired together in painting compositions but appear substantially less often in suzuribakos. Furthermore, the female tiger here is represented with spotted fur resembling a leopard. As the leopard is not native to Japan, artists had only seen the leopard`s fur on occasion and had deduced it must belong to a female tiger.