Inro makie shibayama kinoko

Description

Item: 

Beautiful inro with maki-e and mother-of-pearl inlaid shibayama. Signed. The inro is in fantastic condition as well as the netsuke carved in wood in the shape of mushrooms from Edo era. Glass ojime. XIX century.

8,7 x 6 cm

What is an Inro?

An inro is a traditional Japanese case for holding small objects, suspended from the obi (sash) worn around the waist when wearing a kimono. They are often highly decorated with various materials such as lacquer and various techniques such as maki-e, and are more decorative than other Japanese lacquerware.

Because traditional Japanese dress lacked pockets, objects were often carried by hanging them from the obi in containers known as sagemono (a hanging object attached to a sash). Most sagemono were created for specialized contents, such as tobacco, pipes, writing brush and ink, but the type known as inro is suitable for carrying small things, and was created in the Sengoku period (1467–1615) as a portable identity seal and medicine container for travel.