15 - TATSUKE TOSHIHIDE II: A SUPERB FOUR-CASE TOGIDASHI LACQUER ‘WOMEN GATHERING SHELLFISH’ INRO, AFTER A DESIGN BY UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE

TATSUKE TOSHIHIDE II: A SUPERB FOUR-CASE TOGIDASHI LACQUER ‘WOMEN GATHERING SHELLFISH’ INRO, AFTER A DESIGN BY UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE By Tatsuke Toshihide II (1771-circa 1842), signed Hiroshige 廣重 hitsu 筆 and Toshihide 壽秀 saku 作 Japan, first half of the 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of upright rectangular form and oval section, bearing a lustrous roiro ground exquisitely decorated in gold, silver, and iro-e togidashi maki-e with two women gathering shellfish along a rocky shore. On one side, a young woman crouches beside the foaming waves, reaching toward the water while holding a shell in one hand, her voluminous robes and large patterned obi rendered with remarkable delicacy. On the reverse, her standing companion adjusts a cloth over her head beside a wicker basket filled with gathered shellfish and a small octopus. The figures are set against vigorously rendered curling waves and scattered shells, the fine painterly togidashi contrasting beautifully with the deep black ground. The interior cases are finished in nashiji with gold fundame rims. The underside inscribed in gold HIROSHIGE hitsu [painted/designed by Hiroshige] and TOSHIHIDE saku [made by Toshihide]. With a globular turquoise-green glass ojime. HEIGHT 9.6 cm, LENGTH 5.3 cm Condition: Excellent condition. Toshihide I (1757-1833) and his younger brother Toshihide II (1771-circa 1842) belonged to the branch of the Tatsuke family established by Eisuke in Kyoto. Both were accomplished lacquerers and important makers of inro, and their works are not always readily distinguishable. Toshihide I worked principally in takamaki-e and only occasionally employed togidashi, whereas Toshihide II specialized in the latter technique. The exceptionally refined and painterly togidashi of the present inro therefore strongly supports its attribution to Toshihide II. The inscription Hiroshige hitsu identifies the composition as deriving from a design by Utagawa Hiroshige. For a closely related treatment of the same popular Edo-period pastime, compare Utagawa Hiroshige II’s Shellfish Gathering at Low Tide in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Auction comparison: Compare a related four-case lacquer inro by Kanshosai Toju, similarly worked in brilliant gold and iro-e togidashi on a lustrous roiro ground with finely rendered figures, at Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 4 November 2022, Vienna, lot 183 (sold for EUR 5,850 or approx. EUR 6,700 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing.) Particularly relevant is the close relationship between lacquer decoration and graphic design: the composition of the Toju inro is reproduced in Kobayashi Eitaku’s Banbutsu hinagata gafu (An Album of Designs for Everything), published in 1880-1882. Compare also a four-case roiro lacquer inro by the same artist Tatsuke Toshihide, finely worked in togidashi with a bird among flowers, at Bonhams, London, The Edward Wrangham Collection of Japanese Art, Part III, 15 May 2012, lot 227 (sold for GBP 16,250 or approx. EUR 28,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).