Isabella Gardner purchased this lacquered wood box in 1906, and displayed it in the Titian Room along the west wall of the gallery, on top of a Venetian commode.

The Namban Chest was constructed from wood that was joined with both tiny wooden dowels and a variety of nails. The wood was then coated with several layers of true Asian lacquer, called urushi. Urushi comes from the sap of the Rhus verniciflua tree, which is native to several parts of Asia. Typically, multiple thin layers of urushi were applied to an object, progressing from coarser ground layers to fine, pigmented upper layers. The mother-of-pearl shell would have been adhered to the box surface before the layers of lacquer were brushed wet over the entire box. Once dry, the surface was polished until the shell and lacquer were flush. The silver and gold decoration was created using the hiramaki-e technique where metallic powder is sprinkled onto wet lacquer applied in the design area. The final urushi layers on the Namban Chest would have been polished to a high sheen. The decorative metal hardware appears to be made from a copper-based metal that was gilded.

Urushi is a natural polymer and it is initially extremely durable to heat and many liquids. However, over time lacquer objects can become deteriorated due to light damage. Light damage causes a variety of problems, including water sensitivity, surface cracking on a microscopic level, a loss of gloss, and fading of colors.

The lifting and flaking urushi lacquer was locally humidified as needed to regain flexibility, and then a small amount of dilute isinglass adhesive (a fish glue made from the air bladders of sturgeon fish) was flowed under the unstable lacquer with a small brush. A piece of Mylar with a small weight was placed on top of the consolidated area to provide adequate pressure, while the fish glue dried. A traditional Japanese method of applying pressure using flexible shimbari sticks was used on vertical areas where a weight could not be used (see photo). Detached pieces of mother-of-pearl were reattached using a clear, stable, synthetic acrylic resin. The lacquer surface was cleaned with small amounts of low pH deionized water on a soft cotton knit cloth. This cleaning technique had recently been published by lacquer experts at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The mother-of-pearl pieces were cleaned with a mild aqueous solution on tiny cotton swabs. The metal hardware was cleaned with an aqueous cleaning solution fortified with a chelating agent on cotton poultices. Once the poultices were removed, the surface was rinsed with deionized water on cotton swabs. Finally, several areas of loss on the front of the chest were sealed with a stable synthetic acrylic resin and then in-painted with acrylic emulsion paints to blend with the surrounding surfaces.

Purchased from Moisè dalla Torre & Co. in Venice, Italy in 1906.