14 - Ɏ KOMA KANSAI: A SUPERB FOUR-CASE TOGIDASHI LACQUER ‘SHICHIFUKUJIN’ INRO

Ɏ KOMA KANSAI: A SUPERB FOUR-CASE TOGIDASHI LACQUER ‘SHICHIFUKUJIN’ INRO Lineage of Koma Kansai, signed Koma Kansai 古滿 寛哉 saku 作 Japan, late 18th to early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of upright rectangular form and oval section, bearing a luminous kinji ground finely decorated in gold, silver, and iro-e togidashi maki-e with seven circular medallions, each depicting one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune (Shichifukujin), dressed in voluminous robes and accompanied by their respective attributes. The figures are rendered with remarkable delicacy. The interior cases are finished in nashiji with gold fundame rims. Signed to the underside in gold KOMA KANSAI saku [made by Koma Kansai]. With a finely carved marine ivory ojime depicting Daruma and a spiderweb. HEIGHT 8.8 cm, LENGTH 5.7 cm Condition: Very good condition with only minor wear and few typical light scratches to the kinji ground. The Koma family was one of the most distinguished dynasties of Japanese lacquer artists, founded by Koma Kyui (1600-1663), who was appointed goyo makie-shi, lacquerer to the shogun, by Tokugawa Iemitsu. Successive generations of the family worked for the Tokugawa shogunate and Imperial court, producing lacquer objects of exceptional refinement, with inro forming an important part of their output. The present inro is most likely the work of Koma Kansai II (1767-1835), one of the leading masters of the Koma lineage and particularly celebrated for the technical refinement of his maki-e. The exceptionally subtle togidashi of the present piece is characteristic of this tradition, a demanding technique in which successive layers of lacquer are applied over the decoration and subsequently polished down until the design re-emerges perfectly flush with the surrounding ground, producing an exceptionally smooth and painterly surface. Kansai II is also renowned as the first lacquer master of Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891), who entered his workshop at the age of eleven and inherited from him the rigorous technical foundations that would underpin his later innovations. In 1824, Kansai retired from service under the eleventh Tokugawa shogun, Ienari, took the Buddhist tonsure, and withdrew from professional life. Auction comparison: Compare a related four-case lacquer inro depicting the Seven Lucky Gods, by Kokasai, dated to the 19th century, 8.3 cm high, at Christie’s, Arts of Asia, 26 September 2024, New York, lot 45 (sold for USD 4,410 or approx. EUR 4,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.