Kuruma-dansu or
wheeled chest for kamishimo and kimono storage, configured with one
long drawer at the top, two shorter ones below this on the left covered
with a lock-bar, a safe compartment on the right covered with a hinged
door, a large drawer across the bottom and a small drawer below the
safe compartment. The case and drawer backs of cypress wood, and the
drawer faces of keiyaki (zelkova) wood with a red lacquered finish. The
chest face covered with hand-forged iron hardware: the kakutei or
square style handles with plum blossom form attachments; the long top
drawer with a dragon lock-plate; the lock-bar with a carp ascending a
waterfall with pine and bamboo; the large bottom drawer with a tiger
and bamboo; the locking compartment door with a bamboo trellis and
grape vines surrounding a central mon or family crest of the Katabami
(oxalis) type; the small drawer at the bottom right with peony; and the
base of the chest with rolling waves & spray on either side,
flanking long-eared rabbits, and a central peony motif. From the Sendai
area in Miyagi Prefecture. Edo period, circa 1825 – 1850.
Variations of the Katabami crest type were used by numbers of families
in Dewa Province (present-day Yamagata) to the west of Sendai and
Miyagi Prefecture.
46 ½” high x 47 7/8” wide x 29
5/8” deep.
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