Ht. 2 5/8 ins. (6.7 cms) The subject of the decoration is very unusual and typifies the refusal of the Japanese artist to be restricted by "tasteful" subject matter. It shows a monkey trainer being attacked by a pack of dogs, the monkey appears to be falling to the ground. The treatment of the subject owes something to the Ukiyoe school which often took as its inspiration the life of the ordinary people. The techniques used are inlaid shell, gold on red makie and an unusual textured lead inlay. Note the way in which the design wraps around the inro continuously. The black ground lacquer has faded to an attractive brown as does most black lacquer of early periods when the black was prepared from rusty nails etc. steeped in vinegar. Later in the 18th.c. it became the fashion to use carbon in the form of lampblack, a retrograde development as the resulting black lacquer tended to go matt with age and lose its translucency.

The inro was formerly in the collection of the great Art Nouveau jeweller, Henri Vever, whose fine collection of early lacquer was sold by Sothebys in the early 1970s. As is to be expected with an object that was used, probably on a daily basis, the surface is worn from swinging to and fro against the wearer's kimono, a feature which, to the lover of early lacquer, adds to its appeal. As can be seen from the photos of the interiors there is the remains in some of the cases of the pigment used for the seals. It is in very good condition for its age, some of the shell is missing from one of the dogs and there is slight damage or wear to one of the case interiors (see photos) which reveals the laminated wood veneer construction.

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