Asian Art II - 18th November 2015
Lot 339
AN UNUSUAL JAPANESE SINGLE-CASE INRO 18TH CENTURY The heart-shaped body decorated with...
Estimate £2,000 - £3,000 | Hammer £2000
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Description
AN UNUSUAL JAPANESE SINGLE-CASE INRO
18TH CENTURY
The heart-shaped body decorated with pomegranates and leaves in red and green on a gold lacquer background, a central square panel with a kirin and scrolling clouds in aogai (abalone shell) inlays, the reverse with a ho-ho bird, together with a lacquer ojime, unsigned, 7.8cm.
Provenance: formerly in an English private collection. Purchased from Spink & Son Ltd.
Cf. V Atchley & N Davey, The Virginia Atchley Collection of Japanese Miniature Arts, IN9 p.196, for a single-case inro with similar aogai decoration. According to the authors, this type of inro was probably produced in the Ryukyu Islands by Chinese craftsmen for the Japanese market.