The upper lid of this small box is decorated with a pavilion in a landscape with plum trees, and a similar continuous landscape encircles the side of the lid and the body.
Items intended for the export market were often decorated with anonymous scenes of pavilions in a landscape, but the addition of the plum tree motif was unusual, 5.5cm.
It is possible that the Inventory entries below refer to this small box. There is now only one at Burghley, but they were usually produced in pairs.
The 1835 Burghley Inventory records: ‘Japan Closet, Japan in the Glass case opposite the door(s), sic, Two small round boxes B & G’
The 1867 Burghley Inventory records: ‘Cabinets, No88 Japan Closet, 2 small round black and gold japan boxes’.
