21 - A FOUR-CASE GOLD LACQUER ‘BOAR AMID MOONLIT AUTUMN GRASSES’ INRO

A FOUR-CASE GOLD LACQUER ‘BOAR AMID MOONLIT AUTUMN GRASSES’ INRO Unsigned Japan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Of rounded form, bearing a luminous kinji ground, finely decorated in gold, silver, and black takamaki-e and hiramaki-e, richly enlivened with e-nashiji. The continuous composition depicts a wild boar emerging dynamically amid autumn grasses and flowering plants beneath a slender crescent moon, its powerful body modeled in subtly contrasting tones of lacquer. The interior cases are finished in nashiji with gold fundame rims. HEIGHT 8.6 cm, LENGTH 5.8 cm Condition: Good condition, with minor wear, typical traces of handling and use, light rubbing and few minuscule losses to lacquer along the edges of the cases and to the cord holes. The composition recalls the established painterly theme Akikusa ni fusuru inoshishi (‘A Wild Boar Lying Amidst Autumn Plants’), famously illustrated by Tachibana Morikuni in an instructional picture book published in 1720. The present artist, however, has transformed the traditionally recumbent animal into a far more animated figure: the boar appears to surge forward through the autumn grasses, lending striking movement to an otherwise serene moonlit scene. Auction comparison: Compare a related four-case gold lacquer inro depicting a boar resting amongst autumn leaves and flowers, unsigned, 9.6 cm high, at Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 7 November 2025, Vienna, lot 27 (sold for EUR 2,860).