Portable desk "bundai". Japan, 17th century (Edo period). Nanban style.

Portable desk "bundai". Japan, 17th century (Edo period). Nanban style.
Solid lacquered wood and abalone.
Similar models are reproduced in the catalog of the exhibition "The beauty of the ephemeral. Japanese art through the collections of Daniel Buján and Pardo-Mitsunaga", held at the Museo do Mar de Galicia (Vigo), November 2025-January 2026.
Measurements: 14,5 × 57,5 × 34,5 cm.

Japanese portable desk (bundai) to hold books, calligraphic scrolls or documents, designed for use on the floor on tatami. The piece has a solid wood structure covered with black lacquer, richly ornamented with large abalone inlays that generate an iridescent effect of great visual impact.

The roof shows a nocturnal landscape with moon, architecture and natural elements, framed by a decorative perimeter border. The front and lower skirt are profusely decorated with stylized vegetal motifs executed in mother-of-pearl, creating a refined contrast between the dark background and the iridescent sparkles of the shell.

This type of furniture is part of the so-called Nanban style, developed from the contact between Japan and Portuguese traders since the mid-16th century. The intense ornamentation, the taste for densely decorated surfaces and the abundant use of mother-of-pearl respond both to Japanese technical refinement and to the demand for sumptuary pieces associated with trade with the West.

The present example stands out for the quality and extent of its inlays, which cover not only the lid but also the structural elements and the skirt, demonstrating a high technical level within the lacquer production of the Edo period.