Lot 15*
Okuda Shōjusai 奥田松寿斎 INRŌ WITH MANZAI DANCER 漫才師図蒔絵印籠 Meiji era (1868–1912)
10 November 2015, 13:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £12,500 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Japanese Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistOkuda Shōjusai 奥田松寿斎 INRŌ WITH MANZAI DANCER 漫才師図蒔絵印籠
Meiji era (1868–1912)
An inrō with four interlocking cases and cover, of standard lenticular cross-section with straight sides, rounded corners, curved top and base, and applied cord-runners, the bright red lacquer ground sprinkled with very fine gold kinpun (gold powder) decorated in gold, silver, and coloured togidashi maki-e embellished with kirigane and shell, on each side a manzai dancer in an elaborately decorated costume, one beating a tsuzumi (hourglass hand-drum), the other holding an open fan, beneath a shimenawa (sacred rope) decorated with ferns, the compartments and risers gold nashiji, the shoulders and risers gold fundame; shibuichi, silver, and gilt-metal ojime in the form of a noshi (celebratory paper decoration); wood netsuke in the form of a shishi seated with its right forepaw on a brocade ball, with an oval base
Signed in gold hiramaki-e on the base Shōjusai 松壽齋 with a kaō
The inrō 9.5 × 5.1 × 1.5 cm (3¾ × 2 × 5/8 in.)
The netsuke 3.5 × 3.8 × 2.2 cm (1 3/8 × 1½ × 7/8 in.)
Fitted wooden storage box (2)
Provenance
Sotheby's New York, 8 December 1988, lot no. 523
Sotheby's New York, 19 March 1997, lot no. 61
An inrō with four interlocking cases and cover, of standard lenticular cross-section with straight sides, rounded corners, curved top and base, and applied cord-runners, the bright red lacquer ground sprinkled with very fine gold kinpun (gold powder) decorated in gold, silver, and coloured togidashi maki-e embellished with kirigane and shell, on each side a manzai dancer in an elaborately decorated costume, one beating a tsuzumi (hourglass hand-drum), the other holding an open fan, beneath a shimenawa (sacred rope) decorated with ferns, the compartments and risers gold nashiji, the shoulders and risers gold fundame; shibuichi, silver, and gilt-metal ojime in the form of a noshi (celebratory paper decoration); wood netsuke in the form of a shishi seated with its right forepaw on a brocade ball, with an oval base
Signed in gold hiramaki-e on the base Shōjusai 松壽齋 with a kaō
The inrō 9.5 × 5.1 × 1.5 cm (3¾ × 2 × 5/8 in.)
The netsuke 3.5 × 3.8 × 2.2 cm (1 3/8 × 1½ × 7/8 in.)
Fitted wooden storage box (2)
Provenance
Sotheby's New York, 8 December 1988, lot no. 523
Sotheby's New York, 19 March 1997, lot no. 61
Footnotes
This accomplished artist is believed to have been active during the Meiji era and perhaps into the Taisho era (Takao 2005, p. 94; Wrangham 1995, p. 250).
