Page 26 - Bonhams Japanese art nov 7 2024

36
SHOETSU
A Gold-Lacquer Three-Case Inro
Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19th century
The broad rectangular body with a sparse nashiji
ground, decorated in gold and slight-coloured
takamaki-e with a kinji-lacquered fan embellished
with two confronting dragonflies, adorned with
elaborate tasselled silk cords depicted on the
reverse, in gold takamaki-e, the interior of sparse
nashiji with kinji edges; signed inside the cover
Shoetsu saku with red seal Sho (Akira), inscribed
on the base Kimura Shozaburo ni okuru Kyoto
kokakuka (Presented to Kimura Shozaburo by
the sumo fans of Kyoto).
7.2cm x 7.7cm (2 13/16in x 3in).
£1,800 - 2,500
JPY350,000 - 490,000
US$2,400 - 3,300
36 Provenance:
Purchased at Christie’s, London, 1985.
Purchased in these rooms, The Edward
Wrangham Collection of Japanese Art: Part IV,
5 November 2014, lot 173.
An English private collection.
Published:
E. A. Wrangham, The Index of Inro Artists,
Harehope, Northumberland, 1995, p.246,
Shoetsu, seal Sho (Akira).
Kimura Shozaburo, referred to in the dedicatory
inscription on the base, is the name of one of
the two principal families of gyoji (sumo referees).
It fell out of use after 1886 following the family’s
merger with the Shikimori Inosuke line (the
inscription is mistranslated in the Wrangham
Index). The uchiwa depicted in the design is of
the type carried by gyoji when on duty.
37
NOMURA KYUKOKU
A Gold-Lacquer Three-Case Small Inro
Edo period (1615-1868), 19th century
The rounded rectangular body with a kinji
37 ground lacquered in gold and slight-coloured
takamaki-e with a winnowing basket and three
sheaves of rice on one side hanging to dry over
a wooden fence on the other, the interior of matt
gold lacquer; signed on the base in gold lacquer
Kyukoku with a kao. 6.3cm (2½in) high.
£1,200 - 1,800
JPY230,000 - 350,000
US$1,600 - 2,400
Provenance:
Purchased in these rooms,
7 November 2013, lot 124.
An English private collection.
For the maker, see E. A. Wrangham, The Index
of Inro Artists, Harehope, Northumberland,
1995, p.159.
38
NIKKOSAI
A Gold-Lacquer Four-Case Inro
Edo period (1615-1868), 19th century
The rounded rectangular kinji body decorated in
gold, silver, and red takamaki-e and hiramaki-e
with an all-over design of symbols associated
with the Gosekku (Five Festivals) enclosed within
five differently-shaped overlapping panels,
comprising a bird perched on a plum tree for
38 Jinjitsu no sekku on the seventh day of the

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24 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.