Inro : Japanese Belt Ornaments: The Trumpf Collection

The richly illustrated publication presents about 250 Inro from the Anna and Christian Trumpf collection. These small, multipartite receptacles for seals and medicine, which were attached to a belt with the aid of a toggle (Netsuke), came into use in the sixteenth century and remained a prominent accessory in Japanese menswear until the late nineteenth century. The symbolic, often narrative decoration conveys a valuable insight into Japanese culture. Today the carefully and lovingly worked, mostly lacquered Inro enjoy enormous popularity in collectors' circles. Following the inventory of the Trumpfs' significant Netsuke collection published in 2000, another comprehensively annotated standard work on Japanese belt decoration has now arrived.