SHOPPING FOR ANTIQUES : Japanese Lacquer Inro

ON A LONG-AGO hunting expedition in feudal Japan, the legendary Prince Yamato Takeru is said to have broken off the branch of a Rhus tree by accident--and discovered lacquer. It was a thick, latex sap of dark color, and it so fascinated the prince that he had his possessions covered with it--his writing case, his sake cup and his inro , or medicine box.

The inro itself first came from China, where it had served as a seal case, about 2,000 years ago and was immediately put to use in Japan as a medicine box, carried on a kimono sash and attached by a netsuke , a small, carved figure generally one to two inches in diameter. (Incidentally, the medicine was usually a powder made from Egyptian mummies and was thought to promote longevity and to cure complaints ranging from stomach cramps to hangovers.)

While lacquer was applied to everything from temple pillars to sword scabbards, the inro perfectly illustrates the entire history of lacquer work as perfected over the centuries. The Japanese were apt pupils who quickly outshone their Chinese teachers. Until mass production began in the late 19th Century, each inro was unique--the sophisticated work of one artist, sometimes known, more often not. The variety is dazzling; these lacquered artifacts range from the simplest to the most elaborate, from spare geometric designs to wonderfully rococo versions encrusted with jewels.

Because thousands of examples of inro were made over the years, it is still relatively easy to collect. Although exquisite work of the most delicate kind, inro was also meant to be handled and enjoyed. As Philippe de Montebello of the Metropolitan Museum of Art puts it, “The inro collector’s visual pleasure is enhanced by the sensuality of touch.”

Inro may be found at McMullen’s Japanese Antiques in Los Angeles and occasionally at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena.