Inro Makie shibayama peacock

Description

Item: 

Edo period or Early Meiji Era. 19th century.

Inro Makie shibayama peacock. Decorated in gold takamaki-e with a peacock standing with its tail feathers erect and trailing over to the other side above a peahen, the ‘eyes’ of the male’s feathers inlaid in shell, the interior of rich nashiji, signed in gold lacquer on the base Josen saku with a tsubo-shaped seal, with a brass tubular ojime pierced with gourds and vine. Early Meiji or late edo. XIX century.

7,0 x 5,3 cm

What is an Inro?

An inro is a traditional Japanese case for holding small objects, suspended from the obi (sash) worn around the waist when wearing a kimono. They are often highly decorated with various materials such as lacquer and various techniques such as maki-e, and are more decorative than other Japanese lacquerware.

Because traditional Japanese dress lacked pockets, objects were often carried by hanging them from the obi in containers known as sagemono (a hanging object attached to a sash). Most sagemono were created for specialized contents, such as tobacco, pipes, writing brush and ink, but the type known as inro is suitable for carrying small things, and was created in the Sengoku period (1467–1615) as a portable identity seal and medicine container for travel.