Project Description
Old Lacquer Inro with a Court Carriage
Originally with a roiro-nashiji ground which has faded over time to brown, it is decorated on one side with a court carriage, on the other with oversized chrysanthemums bursting from behind a brushwood fence, in takamakie with copious use of inlays of kirigane and aogai (square-cut gold leaf and shell). Roiro interiors. Agate ojime
This belongs to the very earliest period of inro production, and for its age has survived surprisingly well. Japanese art provided a rich source of inspiration to an important generation of Paris art nouveau and art deco jewellers in the early 1900s. Prominent among these was Henri Vever, one of the greatest ever collectors of Japanese art, but it is interesting to note that Louis Cartier too was influenced in the same way. The apparently abandoned court carriage is usually a literary reference to the Genji Monogatari
Unsigned. Early 17th century
Height 6.9cm
Provenance:
Private collection of Louis Cartier, Paris
MR4610
