Small chest with peach and crane motif

The main motifs of this chest are cranes and peaches. The combination of the two often appears on painted screens. In traditional East Asian culture, there was a special peach associated with long life that could be found in the immortal world. Combined with cranes, the image is highly auspicious.

This box was used as a chest to store scholarly objects such as brushes, ink, and inkstones; along with paper, these four are essential items for scholars, thus called the “Four Friends of a Scholar.” Such items were so precious to scholars that they were encased in these beautiful mother-of-pearl lacquer boxes, designed with highly sophisticated techniques.