A shallow, rectangular box, the overfitting cover with chamfered edge. Fitted inside, all decorated in nashiji, a central panel holding a rectangular inkstone, and above, a rectangular silver water pot moulded with a lizard and a peony. Trays on either side containing two brushes with covers, a spike and a shaped inkstick-holder decorated with flower sprays and with an engraved silver binding.

A silver waterfall cascades from a craggy precipice, creating stylised spray in the rolling waves below. The force of the water is suggested by thin lines of gold within the flow, contrasting with the serenity of the evergreen pine. The scene may be taken from life, for it resembles the Miyanotaki (‘Palace Falls’), near Yoshino in Nara, which appear in similar style on an Edo-period writing box. At that spot, the Emperor Uda (866–931) is said to have composed the following waka:

‘The Palace Waterfall’

Yes, true to its name

Can be heard

The jewel-like resonance

Of the falling white foam.

The dynamic composition here evokes the thunderous sound of the crashing water. Within the box, a Buckingham Palace label reads, ‘Given to / King Edward / the 7th.’ The king never visited Japan, and so this writing set was possibly presented on the occasion of his Coronation on 9 August 1902, which was attended by Prince Komatsu. A hexagonal box of similar style in the Royal Collection is associated with Queen Alexandra, and the pair may have been presented together. Inside are all the accoutrements for writing: an inkstone, water-dropper, brushes, awl and inkstick holder.

Text adapted from Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen: Volume III and Japan: Courts and Culture (2020)