MEIJI DRAGON TRAY
Japanese, early 20th century, lacquerware. Relief carved bamboo dragon betwixt clouds to the abalone-flecked surface, unmarked.
1 x 8 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. (2.5 x 21 x 21 cm.)
Property from the collection of one Berta R. Babcock (b. 1866), a St. Louis missionary stationed in Yokohama on behalf of the American Episcopal Mission New York, between roughly 1914-1922. Ms. Babcock was appointed missionary to the Society to the Missionary District of Tokyo and was working under the Rev John McKim (1852-1936), Anglican Bishop of Tokyo and Chancellor of Rikkyo University, as records show, from as early as 1902. Her eclectic collection of small decorative arts and utilitarian articles gathered during her residence in Japan speaks both as a window to the past and of an honest appreciation for the day-to-day culture that surpassed touristic fascination.

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