Three Inro

EDO PERIOD (19TH CENTURY)

Details

Three Inro
Edo Period (19th Century)
A four case togidashi inro decorated with the six famous poets, Aniwara no Narihira, Sojo Henjo, Ono no Komachi, Kisen-hoshi, Otomo no Kuronushi and Fumiya no Yasuhide, seated on a gold sprinkled black lacquer ground, nashiji interior, fundame rims, with an attached netsuke of a biwa fruit, with gold and silver dewdrops on a leaf; and an early four case inro with silver himotoshi decorated with the "Three Sake Tasters" [Sake Sui San Kio, Lao Tse, Buddha and Confucius], with a large jar of sake inlaid into a lacquer ground, in a garden beside a building, all in takamakie of two colours of gold, the rocks in the garden enriched with kirikane, nashiji interior, fundame rims, with an ojime pierced and carved with peonies and an ivory netsuke which appears to be made from a fragment of another object, Edo Period (mid-17th century); and a five case inro richly lacquered in gold takamakie with togidashi, uchikamie, kinpun, kirikane and red lacquer details on a black ground with a mountainous landscape of pine, bamboo and waterfalls cascading down to a river, in which a cockerel and a hen are raising their brood of chicks beside a drum, nashiji interior, fundame rims, Edo period (late 18th century) with a wood netsuke of a frog trapped beneath a large hollow log, Meiji Period (19th century)
36in. (8.2cm.), 2½in. (6.4cm.) and 36in. (9.1cm.) long respectively (3)

Lot Essay

The story depicted on the third inro is set in ancient China, where in the time of the Emperor Tao, the times becamse so peaceful that the drum for rallying the troops for battle fell into disuse and became a roosting place for fowl. Its only other use was for the populace to call the attention of officials in the event of grievance.

The signature is in a tentative and impermanent brown lacquer, and may well have been added at a later date. The inro was originally unsigned, in all probability.

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