4 - A FINE AND RARE FOUR-CASE SOMADA SCHOOL INLAID AND TOGIDASHI LACQUER ‘FISHING SCENE’ SAYA (SHEATH) INRO

A FINE AND RARE FOUR-CASE SOMADA SCHOOL INLAID AND TOGIDASHI LACQUER ‘FISHING SCENE’ SAYA (SHEATH) INRO Unsigned Japan, 18 th-19 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of upright rectangular form with rounded sides, the saya finely embellished worked in Somada-style mother-of-pearl inlays arranged in intricate floral and geometric diaper patterns, punctuated at the four corners by larger shippo emblems. Each side is centered by a mokko-shaped aperture revealing the fitted four-case inro, its lustrous roiro ground decorated in finely polished gold and aokin togidashi maki-e with kirigane details, forming a continuous coastal landscape with a fisherman beneath pine trees, a sailboat navigating rolling waters, and distant mountains beyond. The interiors are finished in nashiji with gold fundame rims. With a carved globular ojime. HEIGHT 7.9 cm, LENGTH 5.2 cm Provenance: From the private collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, New York, United States. Alan Hartman (1930-2023) was an influential American art dealer who took over his parents’ antique business in Manhattan and established the renowned Rare Art Gallery on Madison Avenue, with further locations in Dallas and Palm Beach. His wife Simone (née Horowitz) served as assistant manager of the New York gallery before their marriage in 1975. Together they assembled an important collection over more than half a century and became noted art patrons, supporting institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which opened the Alan and Simone Hartman Galleries in 2013, as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum in New York. Their collection included a notable group of Japanese netsuke, inro, and lacquer. Condition: Good condition with typical old wear. The sheath with some minor age-related crackling to the underlying frame and small, scattered losses to the mother-of-pearl and gold-foil inlays. The insert with typical rubbing from repeated insertion into and removal from the sheath, as well as minor nibbling to the case edges. Presenting beautifully. Auction comparison: Compare a related togidashi lacquer and Somada-inlaid three-case inro, by the Shunsho lineage, 8.6 x 9.5 cm, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 10 November 2016, London, lot 157 (sold for GBP 11,250 or approx. EUR 18,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). The comparison similarly combines exceptionally fine Somada-style shell inlay with elaborate gold lacquer techniques. The Shunsho lineage was particularly renowned for togidashi work, and sometimes combined it with Somada inlays, making an attribution of the present unsigned inro to this circle conceivable.