Lacquer, silver ground, mura nashiji, gold and colored togidashiexpand_more
Gift of the Clark Center for Japanese Art & Culture; formerly given to the Center by the Peter B. McCord Collectionexpand_more 2013.29.1073
This medicine container (inrō) shows two sets of delicately rendered birds sitting on the branches of a blossoming cherry tree. Though the background has dulled with age, at one point the bright silver (ginji) ground would have shone vividly. This was achieved by coating a granular dusting of silver onto the wet lacquer, and once dried, grinding and shining the surface. The gold maki-e detailing in the blossoms of the cherry trees and inquisitive eyes of the birds offers a striking contrast to the dusk background.
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