Pipe and Pipe Case with Tobacco Pouch
Shibata Zeshin Japanese
Not on view
This elegant lacquer pipe case once hung from its owner’s obi sash, kept in place by the attached netsuke. A fashionable man would have carried a pipe (kiseru), for smoking small servings of finely cut tobacco, in a stylish case (kiseruzutsu) with a matching tobacco pouch (tabako-ire). They served as contemporary fashion accessories and conversation subjects. This two-part case features a maki-e design of wood sorrel, a wildflower similar to clover.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
