inro with netsuke; flat oval lacquer box w/4 compartments and cover, all connected by yellow cord; cord attached to amethyst-colored glass bead and lacquer netsuke w/ 2 cranes or herons in low relief; designs in gold on gold and black speckled ground are pheasant in tree and pheasant on ground on one side of box, landscape w/ 2 mandarin ducks on reverse side; ht. box 8.5 cm.
Donor:
University Art Museum (UC Berkeley)
Collection place:
Japan
Collection date:
before 1968
Materials:
Glass (material), Silk, and Wood (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Netsukes
Function:
2.2 Personal Adornments and Accoutrements
Accession date:
1968
Context of use:
worn by men; attached at the belt by a silk cord w/netsuke toggle; the two ends of the cord run above the inro first through the ojime (bead, "cord-holder." and then through two holes in the netsuke (toggle); originally used to hold the seal which always must be at hand; later used mainly for medicines, sweetmeats, etc.