Small Serving Tray with Spearflower Design

Originally from a set of ten, the five trays on display here show a variety of plant motifs associated with the seasons, and executed in hiramaki-e (low sprinkled picture) with gold and pigmented powders. The bottom of one of the trays bears the seal “Shunshō, ” for the family of lacquer artisans. The Shunshō school was established by Yamamoto Shunshō (1610–1682) and continued on until the end of the 19th century. Shunshō I was well known for his mastery of the togidashi-e (polished out picture) technique, which is used on these pieces. However, the naturalism of the plant designs indicates that this is a later piece by either Shunshō V (Jirobei, b. 1734) or VI (Masanori, d. 1803).