A lacquer three-case inro and matching manju netsuke


By Uemura Enshu (born 1955) after a woodblock design by Komura Settai (1887-1940), Showa (1926-1989) or Heisei (1989-2019) era, late 20th/early 21st centuryDecorated in gold and polychrome togidashi maki-e depicting the beautiful woman Oden being tattooed by an artist from the original illustration in the novel Oden jigoku (Oden Hell) by Kunieda Kanji (1892-1956), 1935, lacquered with an extract from the original inscription Shikashi mata mireba miru hodo nanto utsukushii hada de aro (The more I look, the more captivated I am by the beauty of her skin), signed Settai; the manju netsuke lacquered with a solitary bird flying over a spring of leaves, signed Settai. The inro: 7.8cm (3in) high, the manju netsuke: 3.5cm (1 3/8in) diameter.