This is an early Showa period Japanese 950 Silver cigarette or card case, beautifully hand chased & inlaid to both sides & signed by the maker or artist. The case carries the Japanese ordinance mark for 950 standard Silver & dates to around the early 1930's.

The case is rectangular in form & is slightly curved in shape to enable a comfortable fit in a pocket etc.

The front of the case has a hand chased & Gold inlaid Japanese scene, depicting a pagoda & boat house on the bank of a river, with small islands or outcrops to the fore & a large mountain & trees to the rear. The scene is continued to the rear of the case with a continuation of the mountain & an island.

The rear of the case is signed to the bottom L/H corner with a 3 character mark.

The case is opened via a sprung push button to the right hand edge, to reveal the interior which has a hand chased & Gold inlaid scene of the same pagoda/mountain etc, but from a different view point. One side contains a restraining band with decorative, sprung links.

The interior is marked with 'SILVER 0.950' (Japanese ordinances of 1928 (and 54) called for the use of decimal standard marks to replace the 'jungin' character mark).

Condition is good for it's 80 odd years. There are two very small & very shallow bruises to the front (felt rather than seen) & three very small, noticeable bruises or creases to the rear - absolutely minor & easily rectified.

The case is quite slim & measures approx 4 3/8" by 3 1/8" (approx 11.3 cm x 8 cm).

The weight is a substantial 114.3 g, 4.03 oz, or 3.67 Troy.

Overall, a beautifully chased & inlaid, high grade Silver case.