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'.
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 |
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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 created | March 7, 2003 |
Record URL |
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