Unknown
Dragon amid Clouds (Inrō/Ojime/Netsuke Ensemble)mid-18th century

Not on view

Japanese lacquer inrō with four stacked compartments, deep green surface decorated with a gold and blue dragon among stippled clouds, with ivory-toned ojime bead and netsuke toggle on a braided brown cord

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Dragon amid Clouds (Inrō/Ojime/Netsuke Ensemble)
Culture: Ryūkyū Kingdom
Place Made: Japan
Date Made: mid-18th century
Period: Edo period (1603 - 1868)
Medium: [inrō] lacquer with inlays of aogai (iridescent abalone shell) and gold; [ojime] ivory and metal; [netsuke] ivory
Dimensions: .a) inrō: 3 7/8 × 2 3/16 × 1 in. (9.9 × 5.5 × 2.6 cm) .b) ojime: 3/4 × 11/16 × 11/16 in. (1.9 × 1.8 × 1.8 cm) .c) netsuke: 1 1/2 × 1 13/16 × 5/16 in. (3.8 × 4.6 × 0.8 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Miss Bella Mabury
Accession Number: M.39.2.308a-c
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Japanese Art
Curatorial Notes: The Ryūkyū Kingdom (1429−1879) had a long history of lacquer production, supplying works primarily for export or as gifts to Chinese and Japanese nobility and rulers. Most Ryūkyūan inrō were made for export to Japan, employing several lacquer techniques. High-quality shells were abundant in the waters surrounding the islands, where they were cut and polished for a variety of uses. The inlaying of shell designs on black lacquer became prominent in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Ryūkyūan inrō makers rendered designs on a lacquer ground using a wide assortment of precut and shaped pieces of shell. Here, the clouds are composed of tiny square and variously sized rectangular pieces of gold and aogai (iridescent abalone shell). Other shaped pieces of shell make up the dragon’s body and tail, including long, narrow, pointed slivers placed along the body to create spikes. Larger pieces of shell were cut into the shape of the dragon’s legs, feet, and face. As is typical of inrō design, the image wraps around the form, with the dragon’s head on the front side and its tail and hind feet surrounded by more clouds on the reverse. The dragon motif is repeated on the ivory ojime and netsuke.

2024

Unknown
Dragon amid Clouds (Inrō/Ojime/Netsuke Ensemble)mid-18th century

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Dragon amid Clouds (Inrō/Ojime/Netsuke Ensemble)
Culture: Ryūkyū Kingdom
Place Made: Japan
Date Made: mid-18th century
Period: Edo period (1603 - 1868)
Medium: [inrō] lacquer with inlays of aogai (iridescent abalone shell) and gold; [ojime] ivory and metal; [netsuke] ivory
Dimensions: .a) inrō: 3 7/8 × 2 3/16 × 1 in. (9.9 × 5.5 × 2.6 cm) .b) ojime: 3/4 × 11/16 × 11/16 in. (1.9 × 1.8 × 1.8 cm) .c) netsuke: 1 1/2 × 1 13/16 × 5/16 in. (3.8 × 4.6 × 0.8 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Miss Bella Mabury
Accession Number: M.39.2.308a-c
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Japanese Art
Curatorial Notes: The Ryūkyū Kingdom (1429−1879) had a long history of lacquer production, supplying works primarily for export or as gifts to Chinese and Japanese nobility and rulers. Most Ryūkyūan inrō were made for export to Japan, employing several lacquer techniques. High-quality shells were abundant in the waters surrounding the islands, where they were cut and polished for a variety of uses. The inlaying of shell designs on black lacquer became prominent in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Ryūkyūan inrō makers rendered designs on a lacquer ground using a wide assortment of precut and shaped pieces of shell. Here, the clouds are composed of tiny square and variously sized rectangular pieces of gold and aogai (iridescent abalone shell). Other shaped pieces of shell make up the dragon’s body and tail, including long, narrow, pointed slivers placed along the body to create spikes. Larger pieces of shell were cut into the shape of the dragon’s legs, feet, and face. As is typical of inrō design, the image wraps around the form, with the dragon’s head on the front side and its tail and hind feet surrounded by more clouds on the reverse. The dragon motif is repeated on the ivory ojime and netsuke.

2024