Lot 277 , A good Japanese Shibayama inro with ivory manju netsuke and ojime, Meiji period, inro 8.1cm x 6.7cm

A good Japanese Shibayama inro with ivory manju netsuke and ojime, Meiji period, the inro relief decorated in ivory and mother-of-pearl inlay with the figure of a Shinto priest performing archery and the kneeling figure of a man holding a monkey, two character signature to a mother-of-pearl tablet, the manju carved in relief with the figure of a woman holding a carp, three character inscription and seal mark, with carved red lacquer ojime, inro 8.1cm x 6.7cm
Estimate £3,000-5,000

The inro is in good condition on the side with the man holding a monkey, the reverse side of the archer - his costume is in green stained ivory and there are restorations which are likely to be replacements to the upper part of his robe on the left and his right hand and the robe extending down to shin height on his left hand side, please see photographs for the slight colour variation, there are also some slight losses to the string of the bow near the top and then the bow itself is white down its spine but the tip is gilded so not sure if this was once gilded and has now come off, these replacement sections of the clothing can be seen when sections of the inro are opened up and looked on sideways, when opening the various sections of the inro there is a very slight shallow chip to the very top section where the cord goes through and occasional minor losses to the gilding on the edges of the joins where the inlay is exposed - this can only be seen when the sections are open, the manju ivory netsuke has some iron stud work to it, one of them is slightly corroded otherwise the manju has the odd fine age crack visible on the interior otherwise in good condition and the carved red lacquer ojime looks to be in good condition, please note the inro is signed to a mother of pearl lacquer seal for the shibayama artist but we have also noticed there is raised lacquer signature for the lacquer artist which has a Kakihan mark.


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Sold for £3,000