11 - A FINE FOUR-CASE TOGIDASHI LACQUER ‘BLOSSOMING CHRYSANTHEMUMS’ INRO

A FINE FOUR-CASE TOGIDASHI LACQUER ‘BLOSSOMING CHRYSANTHEMUMS’ INRO Unsigned Japan, 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of upright rectangular form and oval section, bearing a fine roiro ground enlivened with clouds of e-nashij, decorated in gold togidashi maki-e, depicting clusters of flowering chrysanthemums, celebrating the fullness of autumn and heralding the approach of winter. The interior cases finished in nashiji with gold fundame rims. HEIGHT 8.8 cm, LENGTH 5.9 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 legendary Rare Art Gallery on Madison Avenue, with further locations in Dallas and Palm Beach. His wife Simone (née Horowitz) already served as assistant manager of the New York gallery before the couple were married in 1975, and together they built a renowned collection for over half a century and became noted art patrons, enriching the collections of important museums 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. Notably, they assembled an impressive collection of Japanese art, focusing on fine netsuke, inro, and lacquer. Condition: Good condition with minor expected wear, an old loss to one chrysanthemum petal, and a small chip to the second lowest case near the riser. The interior with losses to lacquer and remnants of medicine. Auction comparison: Compare a related four-case lacquer togidashi inro depicting autumnal flowers, unsigned, dated to the 18th-19th century, 9 cm high, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Works of Art, 22 March 2011, New York, lot 3055 (sold for USD 2,196 or approx. EUR 2,800 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).