Description A LACQUER SUZURIBAKO AND COVER WITH CRANESJapan, early 20th century, Meiji (1868-1912) to Taisho period (1912-1926)Of rectangular form, the overhanging cover with a roiro ground decorated in iro-e takamaki-e and hiramaki-e with kirikane and e-nashiji to depict three red-capped cranes flying above two towering trees from which the thread of a ball of yarn hangs, the ball lying on the ground amid leaves and grasses, all framed by rounded gold fundame edges. The interior of the cover with a kidney-shaped panel similarly decorated with a gnarled prunus stump with branches bearing blossoms, some of which are inlaid with shibuichi, while others are lacquered silver or gold, against a nashiji ground. The matching ita (baseboard) carved with two wide grooves to hold brushes and fitted with a circular inkstone suzuri (inkstone) carved with a small well in the form of a clam and a silver suiteki (waterdropper).SIZE 4.5 x 24 x 22 cmCondition: Very good condition with minor wear, few tiny age cracks, minor rubbing to lacquer, few minuscule nicks.Provenance: The Strong National Museum of Play, accession number 76.3311.a-e (lacquered to the base, interior cover, baseboard, waterdropper, and inkstone). The baseboard lacquered with an inventory number, 'E 15978' Margaret Woodbury Strong (1897-1969) grew up in a prosperous family of collectors. Her interests ranged so widely that by 1960 she had amassed more than 27,000 collectible items and works of art. The vast majority of her collections related in some way to play and as her accumulation grew, Margaret planned a museum to house her collection. It eventually opened to the public in 1982, and grew dramatically over the following decades, expanding its collections, facilities, and resources, now spanning over 285,000 square feet. Today, the Strong National Museum of Play (known as just The Strong Museum or simply The Strong) is the only collections-based museum in the world devoted solely to the study of play.