17th century black lacquered wooden box inlaid with mother-of-pearl

Black lacquered wooden box inlaid with mother-of-pearl, gold details. The decor is composed of birds among plants and shrubs. The birds are very active, the one in the center is looking after what appears to be a stylized egg in a nest? The designs are simple but harmonious and very elegant. The marquetry work is empirical but the materials used are solid and have withstood time well, in fact the lacquer has not come off and the mother-of-pearl is still well maintained. This box was made in Europe, probably in Germany at the end of the 17th century, to imitate Japanese lacquerware which was very expensive and whose delivery time was very long. Princess Amalia Van Solms around 1650 waited 8 years for it. lacquer balustrade commissioned from Japan for its Palace in The Hague. European craftsmen, not having the superb natural Asian Urushi, had to invent a substitute lacquer. The result is surprising. The technical imperfections are moving, the interior imitating the famous Japanese Nashiji is both clumsy and charming. It's a page of history. Good general condition, some missing mother-of-pearl and wood, visible in the photos. It is rare to find this type of lacquer in such a good state of conservation.
490x205x110mm
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