Namban wares -- coffers, desks, tables and trays -- were produced by the Japanese from the late sixteenth century specifically for export to the West. The name namban was given by the Japanese to Europeans and other “Southern barbarians”. These export products developed in response to the Portuguese contact with Japan in the second half of the sixteenth century and were produced until the end of their presence in Japan in 1639 (Impey & Jörg 2005: 78).