Of rectangular form with recessed gold fundame edges, bearing a superb gyobu nashiji ground finely decorated in gold, brown, and red hiramaki-e and takamaki-e with kirigane and enashiji with farmers working in rice-paddies, below a bone waterwheel and mercury waterfall contained in a cavity set into the thickness of the lid and covered with glass or crystal so that it can be tilted to make the mercury turn the waterwheel, the water running from the waterwheel through a channel onto the rice paddies, further with craggy rockwork, gnarled trees, huts and buildings and two cranes. The base and interior of rich nashiji, the interior further with gold fundame edges, the cover similarly decorated with a bird perched on a rocky outcrop over two ducks swimming in the gushing water with sailing boats and lined with clam shells, the bird and some of the shells subtly inlaid with glazed ceramic, all below mountains in the background, the roaring sea with boats and shells repeated on the removable ita (baseboard) fitted with a cloud-form gilt-metal waterdropper (suiteki) and rectangular slate inkstone (suzuri).
With an old wood tomobako inscribed to the lid Jidai makie suzuribako (‘An old period piece, lacquer writing box’), and a protective cloth.
4.4 by 24.6 by 22.5 cm.
Very good condition, minor wear, traces of use, few fine age cracks to the top of the cover, minor flaking to lacquer here and there, mostly to interior edges. The mercury mechanism in full working order.