Document case
This document case is a fine example of the kind of superb lacquerware that was made for the Dutch in 17th-century Japan. The decoration was applied in makie, a technique in which gold powder is sprinkled onto wet lacquer. The initials HVB stand for Hendrick van Buijtenhem
(1656–1698). He headed the Dutch East India Company trading post in Japan four times between 1684 and 1692.