SEKIYA KOJI (BORN 1926, ACTIVE UNTIL 2008) An Inlaid Lacquer Box and Cover with Dried Persimmons Showa era (1926-1989), 1956 (2)SEKIYA KOJI (BORN 1926, ACTIVE UNTIL 2008)An Inlaid Lacquer Box and Cover with Dried Persimmons Showa era (1926-1989), 1956A square box with slightly domed inrobuta (flush-fitting lid), the top and sides decorated with a semi-abstract design of seven hoshigaki (dried persimmon fruits) lying on straw, the background of polished black and yellowish-tan, the straw in textured gold and silver low takamaki-e, the fruits in eggshell, lead, gold, and coloured low takamaki-e, mixed silver and polishing stone, and other materials; the interior red lacquer; the base black lacquer within a border of scattered shell fragments and another of red lacquer; the rims silver; unsigned. 7cm x 29cm x 32cm (2 3/4in x 11 3/8in x 12 5/8in). (2).Exhibited:Nitten Exhibition, Tokyo, 1956.Published:Nittenshi Hensan Iinkai (Nittenshi Editorial Committee), Nittenshi 19 (History of the National Salon 19), Nitten hen 4 Showa 31nen (The Nitten Exhibition 4, 1956), Tokyo, Nitten, 1987, pp.320 and 347, no.211.One of the major figures in postwar Japanese lacquer art, Sekiya Koji trained under Sekiya Hikozo, Rokkaku Daijo, and Taguchi Zengoku, and had his work selected for the Nitten national salon in 1952 and 1956, when he showed this piece. A retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Fukushima Prefectural Museum in the artist's native Aizuwakamatsu from April to June 2017 (general-museum.fcs.ed.jp/wysiwyg/file/download/1/310).