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Inro decorated with a ferry scene, and ojime

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Inro decorated with a ferry scene, and ojime

ca. 1800

Tojusai

Japanese, active late 18th - early 19th century

Inro are containers for small personal items such as seals and herbal medicines. Japanese men of the Edo period (1603–1868) wore them hanging on the obi (sash) of their kimono. The small bead called ojime tightens the inro’s cord. Netsuke, intricately carved toggles, were attached at the end of the cord to prevent the inro from slipping through the obi. By the eighteenth century, both inro and netsuke had become more elaborate and decorative and were commissioned by merchants, samurai, and others who could afford them.
Lacquer, gold, and silver
3 x 3 7/16 x 9/16 in. (7.6 x 8.7 x 1.4 cm)
Gift of the Robert B. and Honey Dootson Collection
91.137
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
location
Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, A Thousand Years of Beauty: Japanese Art in Seattle, July 16, 2001 - Nov. 17, 2002.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Rabbit, Cat and Horse; Endearing Creatures in Japanese Art, Dec. 21, 2002 - Mar. 16, 2003

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Legends, Tales, Poetry: Visual Narrative in Japanese Art, Dec. 22, 2012 - July 21, 2013.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.
Published ReferencesKnight, Michael, "East Asian Lacquers in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1992, no. 19, pp. 25-27

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