A JAPANESE GOLD AND BLACK LACQUER INRŌ

A JAPANESE THREE-CASE GOLD AND BLACK LACQUER INRŌ
MEIJI ERA, 19TH CENTURY

Decorated with a continuous design of a shōrō (bell tower) beside a flowering paulownia tree, all rendered in gold hiramaki-e, nashiji, kirikane lacquer and aogai (mother of pearl) on the black roiro ground, 7.6cm.

WITHOUT RESERVE

Beyond their religious use, shōrō functioned as vital civic infrastructures for time-keeping and sounding alarms for fires, natural disasters, or approaching enemy forces.