Description A GROUP OF THREE LACQUER BOXESJapan, 19th centuryThe first a lacquered fubako (document box) of rectangular form, finely decorated in gold takamaki-e and hiramaki-e as well as kirigane, depicting a hill with blossoming flowers and three characters. The box with two silvered fittings on the side, and the interior with a gold sprinkled ground.The second a red lacquer box of a square shape, decorated in geometric patterns, scrolling vines and stiff leaf borders, depicting a phoenix and other mythical beasts.The third a suzuribako box of rectangular form, decorated in wakasa-nuri lacquer, a method using different textures from nature to create a colorful abstract design, the interior with a tray, holding an inscribed fude (writing brush), a suzuri (inkstone), and an inscribed inkstick. SIZE 10.5 x 9.6 cm to 23.5 x 8.7 cmCondition: Each in good condition with traces of wear and age, surface scratches, losses to the lacquer, and some nicks and notches. The suiteki (waterdropper) is missing from the suzuribako box.Provenance: Family collection of either Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) or his son-in-law Louis (Loek) Borensztajn (1935-2021), Netherlands. Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) was an architect, art collector, dealer, and founder of the first Museum of Japanese Art in the Middle East. He became one of the world's leading collectors of Japanese art, starting at the age of 18, and continued to collect and work as an art dealer in Berlin in the 1920s. In the 1930s Felix Tikotin fled from the Nazis and hid his collection in the Netherlands. After the war, he decided that his collection should be taken to Israel, where in 1959 and with the help of Abba Hushi, who was the mayor of Haifa, The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art was established. The Museum's collection comprises more than 8,000 items of art and crafts.