169 - Four-compartment lacquer inrō, Japan, Edo period, 18th century

Four-compartment lacquer inrō, Japan, Edo period, 18th century The body, with a polished black ro-iro lacquer base, is decorated on one side with a large, open ogi fan, adorned with cherry blossom branches rendered in gold and silver hiramaki-e and takamaki-e, embellished with clouds in nashiji lacquer and small bells strung on a gold-lacquered thread. The design is framed by radiating strands inlaid with mother-of-pearl. A second, slightly open fan can be seen in the background. The reverse side is adorned with a second, smaller, closed fan, from which another fan opens, decorated with dragonflies flitting above susuki grass, with a silver-lacquered moon and nashiji-lacquered clouds in the background. The ribs are inlaid with aogai. The interior is finished in fundame lacquer. Signed beneath the base “Koma Yoshinao” (古滿安巨) in red kao, corresponding to the fifth generation of the Koma lacquer artisans’ lineage. The cord is adorned with an openwork bone ojime and a wooden netsuke depicting an oni holding a fixed fan in his right hand and a large bag in his left. 8.3 x 6.4 cm In good overall condition, with a few superficial scratches and signs of normal wear; slight lifting and small, isolated gaps in the mother-of-pearl inlays.