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Inro
Toyo - Enlarge image
Inro
- Place of origin:
Japan (made)
- Date:
ca. 1775-1850 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Toyo (maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Gold, silver and black lacquer
- Credit Line:
Pfungst Gift
- Museum number:
W.259-1922
- Gallery location:
Japan, room 45, case 8
The inro is a container made up of tiers. Japanese men used them because the traditional Japanese garment, the kimono, had no pockets. From the late 1500s onwards, Japanese men wore the inro suspended from their sash by a silk cord and a netsuke (toggle). They originally used it to hold their seal and ink or a supply of medicines. However, it rapidly became a costly fashion accessory of little or no practical use. Most inro are rectangular with gently curving sides.
From the 1750s onwards, craftsmen increasingly tried to find interesting and inventive ways to decorate inro. This example shows a hanging scroll that appears to be suspended from the top of the inro. The lacquer worker has even reproduced the figured silk mounts of a painting. The silver lacquer surface looks like paper or silk and the craftsman has incised it with thin lines that imitate East Asian calligraphy.
From the 1700s onwards, many more artists signed the inro they made. This example is signed Toyo. Iizuka Toyo was a famous lacquerer who worked during the second half of the 18th century. Many of his descendants and pupils also used the same name. This makes it difficult to identify individual craftsmen.
