Antique Japanese Edo Period Gilt Copper Menuki Pair of Wasps Suzumebachi In High Relief Hardware With a blade length (teeth

With a blade length (teeth area) of 30" long by 6" wide

and shelving designed for functional household use

a round sunken compartment is ingeniously designed to hold a bamboo cuspidor

This chest has has a very unique configuration of 7 drawers 2 doors and 2 special shelves for the storage of documents and tools behind the safe door

Antique Japanese Edo Period Gilt Copper Menuki Pair of Wasps Suzumebachi In High Relief Hardware With a blade length (teethA finely detailed pair of menuki (ornamental sword hilt fittings) depicting large wasps (suzumebachi ), cast and chiseled in copper alloy with traces of original gilding. The insects are rendered with lifelike accuracylarge compound eyes, articulated wings, and the characteristic narrow waistshowcasing the remarkable realism and natural observation typical of late Edo kink () craftsmanship. The wasp was a favored but relatively rare motif in samurai