Page 93 - Bonhams Japanese Works of Art September 2015 New York

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A THREE-CASE LACQUER INRO 3174
By Jokasai, Edo period (19th century)
Of lenticular shape and designed in gold
and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, togidashi
maki-e and kirigane with a bucolic scene of
sailboats navigating a waterway spanned
by a plank bridge and bordered by pavilions
and fishing huts shaded by deciduous and
pine trees below a silver moon, the interiors
gold nashiji and with fundame rims, signed
Jokasai saku; fitted with a coral-colored
bead ojime
3in (7.5cm) high
$2,500 - 4,000

3174
A THREE-CASE LACQUER INRO
By Koma Kansai, Edo period (19th century)
The roiro-nuri ground decorated in gold and
iro-e takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, togidashi maki-e,
e-nashiji, kirigane and mura-nashiji with a
night scene of a shirabyoshi dancer dressed
as a courtier and seated in a boat gliding past
reeds and a windswept willow tree lit by a
misty crescent moon, the interiors gold nashiji
and with fundame rims, signed Kansai saku
above a red kao
3in (7.7cm) high
$2,000 - 4,000

This scene alludes to Asazuma-bune, or
ladies-of-the-night associated with the port
of Asazuma, the subject popularized by a
kouta and numerous paintings by the artist
Hanabusa Itcho (1652-1724).

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