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A four-case inrō depicting Shiba Onko, stood to the side of a large jar with a rock in hand. Shiba Onko has smashed open the vase to free his drowning friend. To the verso, their remaining friends run away in panic. Each of the boys’ clothes are sporting various patterns in gold hiramaki-e, enriched with aogai and gold kirikane. The water jar and four boys are rendered in takamaki-e and hiramaki-e, against a gold ground with splashes of muro nashiji.
Shiba Onko was a statesman, historian and scholar of the Northern Song dynasty, renowned for his intelligence. But his fame came at a much younger age. The scene depicted in this inrō tells the story of four friends who had climbed upon a large vase to watch fish swim within. One of the boys leaned in to get a better view but ended up head first in the vase and unable to escape; his friends feared him drowned. All but the young Shiba Onko ran away in fright. Shiba Onko picked up a rock and smashed the front of the vase, saving his friend from certain death.
Circa 1850
Signed, Jokasai Saku
Height: 8.9cm
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