A portable oratory for suspention Namban Art fully black lacquered wood with mother-of-pearl inlay and gold decoration "Birds and flowers" and "Landscapes" Cornice with medallion "Insignia of the Society of Jesus", original copper clasp nippo-portuguese - Momoyama period (1573-1615) faults, mounts and later consolidation plaques, painting missing Dimensões (altura x comprimento x largura) - (fechado) 69 x 51 x 7 cm; (aberto) 69 x 102 x 7 cm Notes: Portable oratory
Japan; ca. 1580-1620
Lacquered and gilded wood with mother-of-pearl inlays; copper fittings
69.0 x 51.0 x 7.0 cm (closed); 69.0 x 102.0 x 7.0 (open)
A large, rare, and significant Namban portable oratory, or two-door retable, made in Japan for
export to the European market. It features a low curved pediment and simple narrow socle, and is fitted
with two doors that once covered a devotional painting, now lost. Designed to be hung on a wall, this
oratory was created for private devotion within the context of the Jesuit missionary work in Asia,
specifically in Japan. Made from a lightweight wood, likely the Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis
obtusa), locally known as hinoki, it is lacquered (urushi) in black and decorated in gold with mother-of-
pearl (raden) inlays. The back panel is lightly coated with lacquer on both sides, and the copper fittings
(kazarikanagu) include four hinges (chōtsugai), a two-part clasp for securing the doors when closed, and
a suspension ring on top. The sides and top are decorated with East Asian arrowroot vines (Pueraria
lobata), known as kuzu. Both the exterior and interior sides of the doors are exquisitely decorated in
horror vacui, featuring large panels divided into two registers. These panels, as those on the interior, are
bordered by a typical frieze of the ‘endless pearl’ pattern (shippōtsunagi). This distinctive frieze, inherent
to this production, is also used on the border of the arched pediment, the socle, and the interior frame that
once secured the now lost painting inside, possibly on copper. The interior frame also boasts a frieze of
meandering vines and tendrils (karakusa), characteristic of this production.
The exterior side of the left door is decorated with two long-tailed birds: one below perched on
the branches of fully bloomed tree peonies (Paeonia x suffructicosa), known in Japan as botan, and the
other above, hovering over flowering plants of the Chinese bellflower (Platycodon grandiflorus), or
kikyō. On the interior side, a large branch of the Chinese persimmon (Diospyros kaki), or kaki, is depicted
on the lower register, while the upper register features, on a rocky landscape, flowering plants of the
chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum sp.), or kiku. Similarly, the exterior side of the right door depicts two
long-tailed birds: one below, perched on the flowering branches of the Japanese cherry tree (Prunus
serrulata), known as sakura, and the other above gliding over chrysanthemums. The interior side
showcases a branch of the Mandarin orange tree, or tachibana (Citrus tachibana), in the lower register,
and Chinese bellflowers in the upper register. The decoration of the arched pediment inside features a
central round medallion bearing the emblem of the Jesuits: the Christogram inside a flaming sun,
surmounted by a cross, and with the nails of the Crucifixion below, set against a ground decorated with
Chinese bellflowers. The pediment is bordered by a frieze of alternating triangles. Unlike other examples,
the pediment of our oratory, featuring the Jesuit emblem, only becomes visible when opened. This is
likely a testament to the growing difficulties faced by missionaries in Japan in the early decades of the
seventeenth century and the subsequent persecution of the newly converted and missionaries, some of
whom were martyred. The Jesuits were finally banned in 1587 and officially expelled in the 1620s,
marking the end of Jesuit missionary work in Japan, which began in 1549, when Francis Xavier (1506-
1552) landed in Kagoshima on August 15.
The refined gold decoration applied to this rare portable oratory, known as maki-e, literally
‘sprinkled picture’, was common in the Momoyama and early Edo periods in Japan. Lacquerware made
especially for export at the imperial city of Kyoto, which combined mother-of-pearl inlays with hiramaki-
e, is referred to as nanban makie or nanban shitsugei - see Pinto (1990), Impey (2000), Impey and Jörg
(2005), Curvelo (2010), Kawamura (2013), and Canepa (2016). Namban or nanban-jin (literally,
‘Southern Barbarian’) is a Japanese term of Chinese origin that denotes Portuguese and Spanish
merchants, missionaries, and sailors who arrived in Japan in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Over
time, Namban has become associated with lacquerware and other goods commissioned in Japan for
domestic or export, reflecting Western tastes and often modelled after European prototypes, or included
European iconography, such as depictions of Portuguese merchants, officials, and missionaries. Namban-
style products thus combine Japanese techniques, materials, and motifs with European styles and shapes,
illustrating a cultural fusion that emerged during this period of cultural exchange.
Namban portable oratories, usually fitted with doors and featuring a pediment, survive in limited
numbers, varying in size and shape, scattered across public and private collections in Japan, Europe, and
the United States of America - see Impey and Jörg (2005), pp. 186-189, and Canepa et al (2008), pp. 246-
253, cat. 28. Our example is one of the largest known portable oratories from this production, surpassing
the large (68.2 x 30.4 x 5.6 cm) oratory in the Wolverhampton Art Gallery (inv. O.J. 232) - see Impey and
Jörg (2005), pp. 186-189, cat. 444. The Wolverhampton oratory, distinguished by its tall triangular
pediment, also bears the Jesuit emblem. In contrast to many examples of this production, which often

exhibit signs of wear, restoration, or loss of their delicate lacquered and gilded decoration, our large
oratory remains remarkably well-preserved, having never undergone restoration.