A fine gold ground inro and ivory netsuke

SIGNED ON THE SIDE IN INCISED CHARACTERS TAISHO MIZUNOE-INU FUYU TOKOKU FUZUI [TOKOKU FUZUI, WINTER IN THE MIZUNOE-INU YEAR OF TAISHO (1922)] WITH A SEAL BAIRYU ZO [MADE BY BAIRYU]

Details

A fine gold ground inro and ivory netsuke
Signed on the side in incised characters Taisho mizunoe-inu fuyu
Tokoku Fuzui [Tokoku Fuzui, winter in the mizunoe-inu year of
Taisho (1922)] with a seal Bairyu zo [made by Bairyu]
Decorated in gold takamaki-e with metal, coral, wood, ivory and stained ivory inlays with the warrior Kusunoki Masashige (also known as Nanko), wearing a full armour, kneeling in obedience beside a pine tree from which he is observing the Emperor's camp in the distance, slight old damage, a bead ojime and a finely carved netsuke of a chrysanthemum, the fitted wood box inscribed and signed by Morita Soko, the inscription reads: Kinji yosegi Nanko Horen o mukaeru zu inro Taisho mizunoe-inu fuyu Fuzui Suzuki Tokoku saku; netsuke zoge kikubana- bori sou Taisho jusannen rokugatsu Morita Soko [A gold-ground inro made from assembled pieces of wood with a design of Kusunoki Masashige awaiting the Phoenix Palanquin, made in winter of the mizunoe-inu year of Taisho (1922) by Fuzui Suzuki Tokoku, accompanied by an ivory netsuke carved as a chrysanthemum blossom made in the 13th year of Taisho (1924) by Morita Soko] with a seal Soko.
3.7/8in. (10cm.) long; the netsuke 1in. (3.8cm.) diam.

Lot Essay

The first Suzuki Tokoku, who also used the names Bairyu and Fuzui, lived from 1846 to 1913 and was noted not only for fine lacquerwork but also for intricately carved ivories. This sumptuously decorated inro, with its outstanding netsuke by Morita Soko (b. 1879) is probably by the second of Tokoku's artistic successors, since it is thought that Tokoku II did not use the name Fuzui1. Kusunoki Masashige (1294-1336) was, with Nitta Yoshisada, one of the two most famous imperial loyalist heroes in the whole of Japanese history.

1 E.A. Wrangham, The Index of Inro Artists (Harehope, 1995), p. 294-5

Literature:
Raymond Bushell, The Inro Handbook (New York and Tokyo, 1979), p. 86

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