Y A JAPANESE EXPORT NAGASAKI LACQUER SERPENTINEMODECIRCA 178082cm high, 114cm wide, 56cm deepThe technique of colourful shell inlay on a lacquer ground displayed by thismode demonstrates that it was produced in Nagasaki, Japan, under Dutch instruction from the latter part of the 18th century. Thismode was likely produced as an export item for the North European market as its form is distinctly European. It is possible that the carcass of themode was first made in Europe and then ped to Japan to be decorated. The island of Deshima (or Dejima) in the Bay of Nagasaki was a centre of production for such items due to the country's policy of national seclusion. The island was the only place in Japan where Europeans were allowed to reside from 1630 to 1856.