Medicine Case (Inro)
maker
Koma Kansai II
(1767 - 1835)
Dateearly 19th century
Place MadeJapan, East Asia
MediumLacquered wood with gold, silver, and red hiramaki-e and togidashimaki-e with cut out gold foil on nashiji ground; lacquered netsuke with gold and silver hiramaki-e on black ground; painted bead ojime
Dimensions8.6 x 6 cm (3 3/8 x 2 3/8 in.)
ClassificationsBoxes
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberU18e75
eMuseum ID719126
Previous NumberU18e54.4
EmbARK ObjectID13421
TMS Source ID2354
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThe Noh play Takasago concerns longevity and happy marriage, themes here represented by an elderly couple who clear needles from under a pine tree, revered for its long life. The netsuke is a small lacquered box; the clasp is a painted bead. Signed: Koma Kansai [1767–1835].
Source: “Japanese Objects,” in Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia, edited by Alan Chong and Noriko Murai (Boston: ISGM and Gutenberg Periscope, 2009): 414.
Source: “Japanese Objects,” in Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia, edited by Alan Chong and Noriko Murai (Boston: ISGM and Gutenberg Periscope, 2009): 414.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 146. (as Japanese, dated 18th-19th century)
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 8, no. 30 (28 Mar. 1965), p. 2.
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 89-93, no. 40d. (as by Kansai II (1767-1835); dated early 19th century)
Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), pp. 411, 414 fig. 11. (as possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Japan, 1883)
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 8, no. 30 (28 Mar. 1965), p. 2.
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 89-93, no. 40d. (as by Kansai II (1767-1835); dated early 19th century)
Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), pp. 411, 414 fig. 11. (as possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in Japan, 1883)
MarksNotesInscribed: Koma Kansai [Kansai II, 1767-1835]
Seal: Kansai
Seal: Kansai
ProvenanceNotesPossibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner during her trip to Japan in 1883.
