Jiyu Cloisonné Kagamibuta Netsuke 'Janome' in Silver-Wire Enamel

A kagamibuta (mirror-lid) netsuke with a silver-wire cloisonné lid in a playful variation of the janome pattern, by Jiyu.

Kagamibuta netsuke pair a shallow bowl with a decorative metal disc set into it like a lid, a form that flourished in the nineteenth century. Jiyu sets a silver-wire shippō (cloisonné enamel) disc with a variant janome (snake-eye) roundel motif into a body of blue ebony, with brass fittings. The gallery notes its pleasing thickness and calls it a netsuke well suited to everyday use, rather than one only for the display case.

Details

• Artist: Jiyu (磁佑)
• Title: 糸輪に覗き蛇の目
• Form: kagamibuta netsuke
• Materials: silver-wire cloisonné enamel, brass, blue ebony
• Size: diameter 4.0 × thickness 1.2 cm
• Box: none stated by the gallery; shipped in protective packaging
• Condition: new, from the gallery

Watch: how wire cloisonné is made

A film on an Owari shippo (cloisonné enamel) craftsman at Tamura Shippo Kogei, from the Nippon Teshigoto Zukan channel. (A general craft video — not this piece or maker.)

Please read before ordering

• One of a kind. We confirm availability with the dealer in Japan within one business day of your order; if it has sold we refund in full immediately.
• Ships from New Jersey in 2–3 weeks. Price includes all import duties. Fully insured, signature required.