Album of Sketches for Lacquer Decoration (Makie 蒔絵)
This is an 1840 album of loose pen-and-ink sketches, apparently Japanese, made as design models for makie lacquer decoration of small carried objects such as inro and netsuke. The pictures show pine trees, cranes, mountains, streams, horses, bamboo and a lion-dog, drawn in fine line with pale wash and loose pages. A designer could take from them compact, asymmetrical compositions that fit awkward curved or box-shaped surfaces.
