A very fine early 20th century wooden inro complete with netsuke and ojime. This is a lovely three case wooden inro - the wood appears to be highly polished rosewood. It is decorated in a gold makie relief design of a goose flying over lake grasses on one side - just the grasses on the reverse.
This is a fine little three piece Japanese inro with a base lacquer color of orange/red. Over that red base, there is a relief design of a sliver and black carp leaping out of the water it has two tiny pieces of gold makie on its right fin. The other sides has a design that appears to be the tail of a carp diving into the waves notice the silver scales on the lower section where the fish enters the waves. The inro measures 2 Ό long by 2 3/8 wide by 5/8 thick at its thickest. It is in reas ...click for details
This is a fine and rare wooden four case inro with ojime and netsuke. The inro itself is a dark wood carved with an intricate design of tiny interlocking grid like carving. The wood was then covered with a transparent layer of lacquer to provide protection and shine.
On top of the wooden case, there is a fine design of a flower, leaves and ...click for details
This is a very intricately designed five case inro with a background of reddish brown lacquer. The lively scene is one of a group of Japanese men dressed in armor and hunting with dogs. Some of the hunters are using rifles some are using long pikes and some carry sticks which were probably used as beaters. The hunting scene surrounds all sides of the inro
A two piece bamboo body tonkotsu with applied decoration of five Japanese coins three on one side (one of which is carved from ivory) and two on the other side. The piece measures 3 3/16" wide by 1 1/2" deep and is 2 5/16" high. The four non ivory coins appear to be made of lacquered wood. The tonkotsu is in excellent condition with no chips or cracks or restorations there is even a faint lingering hint of tobacco aroma on the inside. We date this piece to the late Edo to earl ...click for details
A very nice and quite rare miniature three case inro. In their superb reference book titled: "INRO and Other Miniature Forms in Japanese Lacquer Art", Melvin and Betty Jahss, Tuttle, 1971, the authors have this to say about miniature inro - "While children did not regularly wear inro, it was the custom on some festive occasions to do so. We therefore find small-sized inro with suitable designs which were undoubtedly intended to be used by a child." In all our years of collec ...click for details
An extraordinary Edo Period Japanese tobacco box (tonkotsu) done in takamakie gold lacquer, mother of pearl, and lead all on a wooden base that has been wrapped in a layer of cherry bark. The strong design of the iris and leaves is reminiscent of paintings of the Rimpa school artist Sτtatsu and his successors, and typifies the exuberant urban taste of the Genroku era (1688-1704). Bold designs were encouraged by the Rimpa school and artists such as Shibata Zeshin (1807-91). The superb design of ...click for details
A spectacular five case inro made in Japanese carved cinnabar lacquer known as Tsuishu. This technique was adapted from the Chinese carved cinnabar style by the Japanese in the late 15th century. To achieve a carvable thickness, from one hundred to three hundred coats of lacquer were applied to the wood and lacquer base. Each layer then had to dry and be lightly polished before the next could be added. Since each layer hardens slowly, only one layer could be added a day. After all the layers wer ...click for details
