Plate Set of Five Echizen Lacquer Plates with Gold Maki-e

Five small plates, one for each guest: in Japan such plates are called meimei-zara, and on them each person is served their own portion of sweets or small dishes. This set comes from Echizen, as the inscription on the wooden box and the enclosed card indicate – from a region around Sabae in Fukui Prefecture whose lacquer craft, according to tradition, dates back roughly one and a half millennia.

The lacquer has a deep, warm reddish brown that appears almost black or ruby red depending on the light. Each plate bears a small sprig of fine golden stalks and a blossom in delicate rosé, applied by hand in maki-e and executed in real gold, according to the information on the piece. The decoration is deliberately placed at the rim, letting the reflective lacquer ground come into its own.

The plates each measure about 12 cm in diameter and 1.5 cm in height and weigh around 80 g each. They date from the Heisei period, are in very good, nearly unused condition and come in their two-compartment wooden box – a lovely gift and a stylish setting for wagashi with tea.