Tortoiseshell and Basketry Inrō

Japan

Not on view

The rare, early example in tortoiseshell was made at the beginning of the Edo period, when inrō were first developed. Several others from the seventeenth to the eighteenth century represent the early history and the high point of the object.

Tortoiseshell and Basketry Inrō, Inrō: single case; tortoiseshell under rattan “net” covered with lacquer (urushi); ojime: flower petals, brushwood; patinated copper with mixed-metal inlays; netsuke: turtle; carved wood, Japan

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