DOI Heft:
No. 96 (March, 1901)
DOI Artikel:Holme, Charles: Japanese tobacco boxes
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19787#0109
4
Japanese Tobacco Boxes.
opening has been cut in one side,
and the lid is hinged and fastened by
neatly-made metal attachments. The
^ff^m^^h 1 ^W^^^^^^^MM^^^^MK character of the rind is well retained
fKri^f^0 ( ^''^^^^^mMm^f/mMM//M^ =_ and the object is both curious and
fig. 7 gourd with wooden lid
fig. 8 gourd with wooden lid
interesting. Fig. 4 is made from the
skin of an animal which has been dried
and strengthened inside by various
coats of lacquer. In this instance,
additional interest is given to it by a
lacquered representation of a pine tree
with incrustations of malachite and
bronze. Fig. 5 is formed of mother-of-
pearl shell of a beautiful iridescence,
the lid being of wood with inlaid
ornaments, while the netsuke is a piece
of amber of a fine red colour. Fig. 6
consists of a strip of prettily marked
bark incrusted with ornaments in pearl
and horn. Figs. 7 and 8 are made of
gourds which have been especially
grown for the purpose in a somewhat
cocoa-nut shell
illustrate the Japanese veneration for the
antique. Fig. 2 represents a receptacle for
tobacco in bag or pouch form. Its sides are
composed of two pieces of thin wrought iron,
ornamented with badge-like designs cut in high
relief upon the ground. They are beautiful bits
of armourer's work, possibly by one of the
Aliochins, and originally formed portions of a
pair of gauntlets. The iron is laced to a strip
of old Spanish leather, and is closed at the top
by a piece of Java printed cotton, drawn
together by a silken cord. The idea of using
such materials in the making of a tobacco
holder is a strangely practical one for a collec-
tor of curiosities, but by no means exceptional
in Japan.
The love of Nature is everywhere apparent
in the land of the rising sun. Her poets sing
of waterfalls, of mountains, of trees and flowers,
of birds and insects. The retention of the
"natural heart" is the greatest thing to be
desired, according to the precepts of her early
religionists. Her architects so construct their
houses that the beauty of the natural grain of
unvarnished wood and of the structure of the
bark of trees are not lost, but often constitute
their chief ornament.
This sentiment is exhibited in a variety of
ways in a collection of tobacco-boxes. Fig. 3 is
made of the dried rind of a citron folded, while
still soft, in the form of a Japanese bag. An fig. 10 cocoa-nut shell with wooden lid
89
Japanese Tobacco Boxes.
opening has been cut in one side,
and the lid is hinged and fastened by
neatly-made metal attachments. The
^ff^m^^h 1 ^W^^^^^^^MM^^^^MK character of the rind is well retained
fKri^f^0 ( ^''^^^^^mMm^f/mMM//M^ =_ and the object is both curious and
fig. 7 gourd with wooden lid
fig. 8 gourd with wooden lid
interesting. Fig. 4 is made from the
skin of an animal which has been dried
and strengthened inside by various
coats of lacquer. In this instance,
additional interest is given to it by a
lacquered representation of a pine tree
with incrustations of malachite and
bronze. Fig. 5 is formed of mother-of-
pearl shell of a beautiful iridescence,
the lid being of wood with inlaid
ornaments, while the netsuke is a piece
of amber of a fine red colour. Fig. 6
consists of a strip of prettily marked
bark incrusted with ornaments in pearl
and horn. Figs. 7 and 8 are made of
gourds which have been especially
grown for the purpose in a somewhat
cocoa-nut shell
illustrate the Japanese veneration for the
antique. Fig. 2 represents a receptacle for
tobacco in bag or pouch form. Its sides are
composed of two pieces of thin wrought iron,
ornamented with badge-like designs cut in high
relief upon the ground. They are beautiful bits
of armourer's work, possibly by one of the
Aliochins, and originally formed portions of a
pair of gauntlets. The iron is laced to a strip
of old Spanish leather, and is closed at the top
by a piece of Java printed cotton, drawn
together by a silken cord. The idea of using
such materials in the making of a tobacco
holder is a strangely practical one for a collec-
tor of curiosities, but by no means exceptional
in Japan.
The love of Nature is everywhere apparent
in the land of the rising sun. Her poets sing
of waterfalls, of mountains, of trees and flowers,
of birds and insects. The retention of the
"natural heart" is the greatest thing to be
desired, according to the precepts of her early
religionists. Her architects so construct their
houses that the beauty of the natural grain of
unvarnished wood and of the structure of the
bark of trees are not lost, but often constitute
their chief ornament.
This sentiment is exhibited in a variety of
ways in a collection of tobacco-boxes. Fig. 3 is
made of the dried rind of a citron folded, while
still soft, in the form of a Japanese bag. An fig. 10 cocoa-nut shell with wooden lid
89