Beschreibung:

By Nemoto, Meiji Period The saya in the form of a tsuba bearing a rich kinji ground elaborately decorated in typical Shibayama style with two humorous scenes, one side with three oni, depicting one oni wearing a human skull and discarded parasol around his shoulders, standing atop the large skull of a dead animal beside a meandering stream, gesticulating like a ghost and scaring his two companions in the process, three other human skulls suspended from trailing branches of wisteria above, the reverse with Benten and Daikoku throwing koban (oval gold coins) at four cavorting rats inlaid in shibuichi takazogan dressed in human attire, the sides and aperture of the sheath embellished in rich okibirame, signed Nemoto zo; the oval gold lacquer inro containing two compartments decorated in gold togidashi and e-nashiji with variously patterned brocades, with a shibuichi ojime in the form of a dancing shojo, unsigned and an ivory figural netsuke of a shishimai dancer and companion, unsigned. 9.2cm (3 5/8in) high.