TOYO: A SUPERB FOUR-CASE LACQUER INRO WITH MONJU BOSATSU AND SHISHI By Kanshosai (lizuka) Toyo, signed Toyo 桃葉 with kakihan Japan, late 18th to early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) The wide-bodied four-case inro bearing a beautiful and dense nashiji ground, decorated on one side with a gold-lacquered moon-shaped panel, in imitation of gold inlay, minutely engraved in kebori with Monju Bosatsu (Manjushri), the face with a benevelont expression, gliding across clouds, and holding a red nyoi-sceptre. The reverse is brilliantly lacquered in gold and silver takamaki-e with a prancing shishi. The interior of red lacquer and the risers of roiro sparsely sprinkled with gold powder. Signed underneath in gold lacquer TOYO with a kakihan. With an en suite aventurine ojime. HEIGHT 8.9 cm Condition: Superb condition with hardly any wear. Provenance: Ex-collection J.B. Gaskell, no. 281, with old collection label in the top case. Sold at Sotheby's London in 1981. Ex-collection Edward A. 'Ted' Wrangham (1928-2009), collection no. 1527, who formed one of the most important collections of Japanese Art in modern times. His reference book 'The Index of Inro Artists' (1995) is considered one of the most important English-language studies on Japanese lacquer ever published. The kakihan used on this inro best compares to the ones shown in the first row 'A' illustrated in Wrangham, (1995) The Index of Inro Artists, p. 312. Auction comparison: Compare to a related inro depicting Monju Bosatsu, sold at Bonhams, The Edward Wrangham Collection of Japanese Art Part IV, 6 November 2013, London, lot 183 (sold for 9,375 GBP). For an inro showing gold metal inlay featuring a design of Monju Bosatsu, see Bonhams, The Edward Wrangham Collection of Japanese Art Part VI, 10 November 2015, London, lot 132 (sold for 3,500 GBP).