SHIBATA ZESHIN (1807-1891)A LacquerInro with Shoki the Demon-Queller and anOni (Demon), and a Netsuke with a Sake-BottleMeiji era (1868–1912), circa 1886In sheath-inro form, the case of wood covered in silverfundame textured inishime-nuri to imitate the walls of a rustic dwelling, each side pierced with a window, the window bars rendered on one side in shell and on the other intetsusabi-nuri, one side of the sheath hinged to release the container inside, the interior of the sheath finished in goldfundame lacquer, the container probably of paper, with overhanging lid and divided interior, covered in goldkinji andishime-nuri; on the front, Shoki the Demon-Queller in colouredtogidashi maki-e seen from the waist up, dressed in the robes and cap of a Chinese scholar-official, with his sword on his back and wearing a baleful expression, the reverse also intogidashi maki-e with anoni (demon) in silhouette hiding behind ashoji (paper screen), signed in scratched characters on the base near one of the cord runnersZeshin,8.2cm × 6cm × 1.6cm (3¼in × 2 3/8in × 5/8in); the netsuke in box form, of wood lacquered inshibuichi-nuri and with a design of a large and a small decorated gourd intakamaki-e; iron and goldojime in the form of a mallet; the netsuke signed in scratched characters on the baseZeshin,3.2cm × 2.7cm × 1.4cm (1¼in × 1in × ½in); with a fitted wood storage box. (2).Artist or Maker: Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891)Provenance: Provenance:Inro: Henri Vever (1854-1942) Collection.Vignier Collection.Densmore Collection.Bess Collection.Netsuke: Hayashi Collection, sold in 1902.Henri Vever (1854-1942) Collection.Inro and netsuke: Charles Greenfield Collection, sold at Eskenazi Ltd., London, 1990.Misumi Collection.Sold in these Rooms, 5 November 2014, lot 6.A Royal Collection.Exhibited and Published:Harold P. Stern,The Magnificent Three: Lacquer, Netsuke and Tsuba, exhibition catalogue, New York, Japan House Gallery, 1972, cat. no.164 (inro).Pekarik, Andrew J.,Japanese Lacquer, 1600-1900: Selections from the Charles A. Greenfield Collection, exhibition catalogue, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980, cat. no.79.Eskenazi Ltd.,The Charles A. Greenfield Collection of Japanese Lacquer, London, 1990, cat. no.79.Nezu Museum,Shibata Zeshin no shikko, urushi-e, kaiga (Shibata Zeshin: From Lacquer Arts to Painting), exhibition catalogue, Tokyo, 2012, cat. no.87.The Chinese demon-queller Shoki in pursuit of a fleeingoni (demon) was one of Zeshin's favourite subjects in both lacquer and painting, and numerous examples are extant. The Nezu Museum in Tokyo owns aninro (Nezu Museum 2012, cat. no.86) which is very similar to the present lot with the difference that the inner container is in the more usual form of a set of interlockingpartments. With its intricate structure,plex range of techniques, lively characterization, and meticulous finish, this