Kadai or art display stand in a large, rectangular form with rounded corners. Of splashed black, yellow and orange-red lacquers polished flat to abstract effect over a wood base. Possibly from Murakami in Niigata, but purchased from a small collection of these lacquers in the Kansai (central Honshu). Taisho era, circa 1912 – 1926.

The unusually large scale of this lacquer display stand draws one’s eyes back over the clouding, abstract surface. The pattern seems diffuse, wandering like clouds against a broad horizon.