Inro thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Inro

ca. 1775-1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

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.
Many inro were made of lacquer because it was highly suitable for storing medicines. Lacquer is the sap from the tree Rhus verniciflua that grows mainly in East Asia. The sap was processed, and the lacquer worker would then apply it in many thin layers to a base material. The craft of lacquering, as well as making inro bodies, is very complicated, time-consuming and expensive. This inro is decorated in two different lacquer techniques. They are gold hiramakie (low sprinkled picture) and takamakie (high sprinkled picture).
From the 1700s onwards, many more artists signed the inro they made. This example is signed Kajikawa, one of a family of lacquer workers who specialised in inro. It is often not possible to identify individual artists as many generations simply used the name 'Kajikawa'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Gold and silver lacquer
Brief description
Inro, gold and silver hiramakie (low sprinkled picture) and takamakie (high sprinkled picture) lacquer, autumn plants, signed Kajikawa, ca.1775-1850
Physical description
Six cases. Gold lacquer. Autumn flowers in relief, with dew drops in silver.
Dimensions
  • Height: 9.9cm
  • Width: 5.1cm
  • Depth: 2.9cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
Signed Kajikawa
Credit line
Salting Bequest
Object history
Bequeathed by Mr. George Salting, accessioned in 1910. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Subject depicted
Summary
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.
Many inro were made of lacquer because it was highly suitable for storing medicines. Lacquer is the sap from the tree Rhus verniciflua that grows mainly in East Asia. The sap was processed, and the lacquer worker would then apply it in many thin layers to a base material. The craft of lacquering, as well as making inro bodies, is very complicated, time-consuming and expensive. This inro is decorated in two different lacquer techniques. They are gold hiramakie (low sprinkled picture) and takamakie (high sprinkled picture).
From the 1700s onwards, many more artists signed the inro they made. This example is signed Kajikawa, one of a family of lacquer workers who specialised in inro. It is often not possible to identify individual artists as many generations simply used the name 'Kajikawa'.
Collection
Accession number
W.477-1910

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Record createdMarch 7, 2003
Record URL
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