Inro (Case) with Squirrels in Grapevines (1700–1868): Art, History and Details

Inro (Case) with Squirrels in Grapevines (1700–1868) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

With multiple small compartments joined with a woven silk cord, inro are small cases that can be worn on one’s obi, the sash fastening a kimono. This one has a metal ojime, or small cinch, with a pierced floral design and a wood netsuke (toggle) carved with an autumnal design of quails in millet. The netsuke can be used both to pull the inro out and to help keep it in the obi. Squirrels in grapevines is a popular autumn motif.

Object facts

• Title: Inro (Case) with Squirrels in Grapevines
• Date: 1700–1868
• Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
• Type: Lacquer
• Technique: Lacquer on wood with sprinkled gold powder design (maki-e)
• Dimensions: Overall: 8 x 5.8 cm (3 1/8 x 2 5/16 in.)
• Collection: Japanese Art
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 1916.860

Collection credit

Gift of D. Z. Norton

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.