A Fine Kogo In The Form Of A Biwa

MEIJI PERIOD (LATE 19TH/EARLY 20TH CENTURY)

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A Fine Kogo In The Form Of A Biwa
Meiji Period (Late 19th/early 20th Century)
The face of the instrument decorated with mokume [wood-grain], togidashie, crossed by a brocade patterened band in usuniku-takamakie and hiramakie, the strings and frets in the same technique, the sound holes indicated by inlays of raden, the base and sides of the biwa nashiji, the pegs silver, as are the rims of the kogo, which is formed from the body of the instrument, the interior nashiji
1.3/8 x 6¾ x 2½in. (3.5 x 17.2 x 6.5cm.)

Lot Essay

The biwa [lute] appeared in Japan in the Nara period, having supposedly spread from Persia via India and China. It was played with a plectrum by both men and women in the Heian period and by blind priests in later days, who told war tales of the samurai to the accompaniment of the instrument.

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