Subject: 侍 samurai warrior
Culture: Japanese
Setting: Edo period, Japan 17th-19thc
Object: belt accessories = 根付 netsuke toggle, 緒締め ojime bead, 印籠 inrō case
Crow Collection of Asian Art *
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* Crow Collection of Asian Art
"Waiting Under a Tree Japan, Edo period, 19th century Lacquer, gold, and mother-of-pearl over wood.
Inro (medicine box) lacquer; wood toggle (netsuke) in the shape of a clamshell with carved scene inside ....
The black lacquered stacked medicine box (inro) for wear at a gentleman's belt is exquisitely crafted to draw the eye and mind, into the object and open them again in unpredictable places.
"On the front of the inro a man at leisure under a tree lies on a red lacquer daybed and fans himself languidly in the summer heat. We can see his face through a transparent layer of mother-of-pearl that composes the fan. On the back of the box, a carriage approaches, perhaps that of a lady arriving at a prearranged meeting in the countryside. Even more surprising is the toggle (netsuke) carved in the shape of a clam. Look closely to see what is carved inside the clam. Such compositions are called 'clam dreams.'"
Harvard Museum of Natural History *
* National Museum of Ireland > What's In Store?
Museum of Fine Arts > Art of Asia, Oceania, and Africa *
* Museum of Fine Arts > Art of Asia, Oceania, and Africa
