![](https://cmsadmin.rct.uk/sites/default/files/Japan%20half%20banner.jpg)
JAPAN
Box and cover
c.1860-69Wood decorated in gold lacquer, pewter, glass and stone | 5.0 x 23.0 x 25.9 cm (parts .a and .b together) | RCIN 29453
Far more than mere nature studies, pairings of birds and flowers in Japanese art have specific seasonal and poetic connotations. This combination of pheasants and a flowering peach tree, representing spring, is taken from Chinese painting.