A Japanese lacquer shell game box, cover, and stand, KaiokeEdo period, 18th/19th centuryOctagonal, finely decorated with prunus, pine saplings, and stream, embellished with kiku and kiri mon, interior lined with gold and beige silk brocade in a lotus-scroll pattern. NOTE: the present lot, bearing a variant of the chrysanthemum crest, suggesting a union of a minor member of the Imperial family, perhaps with a member of the Toyotomi family represented by the kiku crest, would have originally been paired with another similar box to contain the painted clam shells for the shell matching game. These boxes would have been part of the larger bridal trousseau of an important member of Edo society, the trousseau including shodana, cosmetic boxes, assorted cases, incense game items, basins, and writing objects. For a pair of boxes and stands of similar form, dated 18th/19th century, see Yoshiaki Shimizu, "Japan, The Shaping of Daimyo Culture, 1185-1868, Kyoto 1988, pp. 298-299, no 235, where the author notes, as the matching game was symbolic of a successful marriage, "the shell matching set was regarded as one of the most important items in a daimyo bridal trousseau." H: 18 in.PROVENANCE:Acquired in New York by the present owner, circa 2009 See More