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

Portable desk "bundai". Japan, 17th century (Edo period). Nanban style.
Solid lacquered wood with gold dust decoration and mother-of-pearl inlay ("makie" technique).
Provenance: Pardo-Mitsunaga Collection.
Piece 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: 15.5 × 54 × 33 cm.

This bundai, a traditional Japanese portable desk, was used to hold books, calligraphic scrolls or letters, especially in literary contexts linked to poetry. Its low design responds to the Japanese custom of reading and writing seated on tatami.

Made of solid wood covered with black lacquer, it features a refined decoration using the makie technique, consisting of the application of gold dust on the still-wet lacquer, combined with delicate mother-of-pearl inlays that provide subtle iridescent effects.

The cover depicts a scene with pavilion architecture in a garden setting, while the sides and the skirt are richly decorated with plant ornamentation with birds, creating a balanced and elegant composition. The curved legs reinforce its sculptural character and the formal sophistication of the whole.

The piece is inscribed in the cultural context of Japan during the Edo period, a period marked by a complex process of opening and control of relations with the West. Since the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, there was an intense commercial and artistic exchange that, after a period of expansion, was restricted to trade with Holland through Dejima.

This contact generated reciprocal influences: Nanban art emerged in Japan, representing the Europeans, while in Europe a deep fascination for Japanese art developed centuries later.

Within this framework of technical refinement and cultural richness, the present bundai exemplifies the excellence achieved by the art of Japanese lacquer in the 17th century, where functionality and aesthetic sophistication are integrated in a work of remarkable artistic quality.