A SUPERB GOLD LACQUER INRO-DANSU (STORAGE CABINET FOR INROS)Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912)Of rectangular form with recessed gold fundame edges, supported on a shaped foot lacquered in gold fundame, the exterior bearing a nashiji ground richly decorated in gold and colored takamaki-e and hiramaki-e with inlays of bone to depict various inro and netsuke as well as plain globular ojime.The right door with an inro showing Jurojin reading a scroll beside a deer, with a paddle-shaped netsuke of an actor wearing an Okina mask and holding a fan. The left door with an inro depicting a noble lady seated on a terrace and looking out toward a mountain landscape under thick clouds and a full moon, with a figural netsuke of an actor wearing an Okame mask and holding a fan. The right side with an inro of a lady and boy in a garden by a meandering stream, with a netsuke of a sambaso dancer. The left side with an inro of a cockerel perched on a war drum, with a netsuke of Fukurokuju. The top with an inro of a demoness and a swordsmith, with a netsuke of Ebisu, as well as an inro depicting a large ship, with a netsuke of a duck.The doors open to reveal four drawers with silver handles, each of nashiji with gold fundame edges and finely decorated in gold hiramaki-e with floral sprays including prunus, iris, and bellflower, the interiors of the doors with a roiro-mura-nashiji ground decorated in gold and silver hiramaki-e with autumnal flowers including aster, bellflower, and bush clover.The silver fittings comprise shaped handles to the sides incised with foliate designs, door hinges chased and incised with foliate designs against a ring-punched ground, and similarly crafted door handles with a shaped hinge lock.SIZE 24.3 x 29 x 23.3 cmCondition: Very good condition with minor wear, few scattered minuscule losses to lacquer. Presents beautifully.Provenance: Ex-collection Shep Brozman, New York.Auction comparison: Compare a related lacquer inro-dansu decorated with tsuba, dated second half of the 19th century, at Christie’s London, Netsuke & Lacquer from the Japanese Department of Eskenazi, 17 November 1999, London, lot 23 (sold for 25,300 GBP).13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer’s premium – only for buyers within the EU.