A pair of inlaid iron kakebanaike (hanging flower vases)By the Komai Company, Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19th/early 20th century
Each in the form of a koto, the strings typically inlaid in gold high relief over a simulated mokume (wood grain) ground inlaid in flat gold inlay, the broad end similarly embellished in gold flat relief inlay with a design of stylized dragons in a narrow rectangular panel surrounded by vine leaves and scrolls, the sides inlaid in silver with all-over design of densely clustered kikkomon (hexagonal 'tortoiseshell' patterns), the reverse similarly decorated in low-relief silver inlay with fragmented shippo-tsunagi (linked-cash); each signed on the reverse Kyoto no ju Komai sei (Manufactured by Komai of Kyoto). 3.8cm x 27.8cm x 7.6cm (1½in x 10 7/8in x 3in). (2).