Inlaid iron box and cover signed Ryuosai Masatoshi Nasu
龍翁齋政壽作鐵嵌漆蓋盒

Circa 1880, Japan

Height 6.5 cm 2.56 inches, width 16.2 cm 6.38 inches, and depth 11.8 cm 4.65 inches

An inlaid iron box and cover of rectangular form with robed corners. The cover depicting Daikoku (the god of wealth) playing with a mice on his mallet by his large treasure sack and straw rice-bags, worked in gilt, silver, copper, shakudo and shibuichi takaniku-iroe-zogan, framed within a band of stylised wisteria in gold silver hira-zogan. The sides decorated with stylised leaves in gilt and silver hira-zogan.

Signed Ryuosai Masatoshi nasu (worked by Ryuosai Masatoshi). Although the artist appears to be unrecorded, the style of high-relief inlay work is probably of the Mito school.