Description:

**Originally Listed At $300**

East Asia, Japan, Meiji Period, ca. 1868 to 1912 CE. A finely-crafted and hand-sewn leather "tabako-ire" (tobacco pouch) with a front flap and two interior receptacles lined with light-brown fabric. The exterior of the pouch is decorated with an image of a komainu (literally "pony dog"), a mythical guardian animal which is believed to bring good fortune to those it protects. The head of the animal in on the front flap with white and blue pigment decorating the body and red pigment within the mouth, and the rest of the body extends onto the verso of the pouch. A circular celluloid kagamibuta (literally "mirror-lid") netsuke holds a nickel-brass medallion bearing a low-relief image of a second komainu, and the netsuke is bound to the pouch with a multi-stranded nickel-brass chain. A nickel-brass button clasp on the edge of the flap depicts a blooming lotus flower. Size (pouch w/ closed flap): 5.45" W x 3.55" H (13.8 cm x 9 cm); size (netsuke): 2" Diameter (5.1 cm).

Provenance: private Southern California, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s to mid-1980s

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

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#141154

  • Condition: Light desiccation to leather components, fading to original pigmentation, with light tarnishing to nickel-brass components, and minor abrasions, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits throughout.

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April 6, 2023 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000