Inro

19th century

Signed: Bunryusai

Takamaki-e lacquer with mother-of-pearl and coral inserts; nashiji ground

On one side is represented a green-lacquer mantis surrounded by a plant of hyotan (pumpkin) whose fruits are realized in inlaid coral. On the other side, a dragonfly flies between the branches of the same plant.

The name Kajikawa Bunryusai comes from the third master of the Kajikawa family who worked for the shogunate in the late 17th century. Inro so signed are normally the work of one or more artists active from mid-18th  to late-19th century, belonging to the same school.