A gold-lacquer shibayama-inlaid three-case inro


The inro by Nemoto and the netsuke by Homei/Yasuaki, both Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19th/early 20th centuryThe flattened compressed body in the form of a kinchaku, lavishly decorated in typical Shibayama style in gold togidashi maki-e, kirikane and shell inlay with two fantastical, humorous scenes depicting an oni in a garden of flowering autumn plants and flowers holding his shumoku (wood hammer) umpiring a tug-of-war game between two frogs, one rabbit, a monkey and a rat on one side and two temple servants running for shelter frightened off by a man brandishing a large Tengu mask beneath a flowering maple tree, the interior of rich nashiji, signed on the base Nemoto zo within two silvered-metal rectangular reserves, with a silver-lacquer cylindrical ojime decorated with a chequered design; and an ivory netsuke of a seated No play narrator holding a fan, signed Homei/Yasuaki with a seal Kodama. The inro: 6.7cm x 9cm (2 5/8in x 3½in); the netsuke: 2.7cm (1 1/16in) high.