HAKUUNSAI: AN UNUSUAL LACQUER KISERUZUTSU WITH ROOF TILESBy Hakuunsai, signed Hakuunsai 白雲斎Japan, 19th centuryOf muso-zutsu type, superbly decorated with layers of red and black lacquer which have been carved and polished to depict numerous overlapping roof tiles and shaped panels enclosing characters, mythical animals, and floral designs, all against a diapered wave ground, one roundel to the lower end with the artist’s signature HAKUUNSAI, the first two characters Haku and Un encased in the last character Sai, which is extremely stylized. Two roof tiles show FURTHER seals as well, one reading Kotobuki (‘longevity’) and the other Tairyu (lit. ‘willow trees on a high platform’, possibly an additional art name of the artist). The lacquer has been carefully enriched with charcoal to, quite brilliantly, give the appearance of aging to the roof tiles.LENGTH 20.7 cmCondition: Good condition, some wear, fine age cracks, tiny nicks, few small losses.Auction comparison: Compare a guri-lacquer kiseruzutsu, similarly decorated with layers of red and black lacquer which have been carved and polished, dated late 19th century, at Lempertz, 25 June 2021, Cologne, lot 785 (sold for 3,250 EUR).