Hexagonal Inrō Decorated with Monkeys
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
18th century - 19th century
This hexagonal inrō is a Japanese lacquer container created during the 18th to 19th centuries by an unknown maker. It measures 6.8 cm in height and 3.6 cm in width, formed from multiple interlocking sections strung together on a cord.
The exterior is decorated with a pictorial scene depicting monkeys climbing across a gnarled fruit tree and resting on rocky formations. The design is executed using a combination of gold, red, and brown hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled lacquer) and takamaki-e (high-relief sprinkled lacquer), enhanced with kirikane (applied cut foil). These decorative elements are set against a background of nashiji, or sprinkled "pear skin" gold lacquer ground.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Inrō
- Museum object number
- CIRC.131-1922
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.