Carved red lacquer four-case inro with cranes and three friends of winter / Inubako netsuke

This inrō has been coated with many layers of red lacquer to build up a thick surface, which was then carved, a very time-consuming and technically challenging art. After being introduced from China in the Muromachi period, the Japanese seriously took up producing carved red lacquer. This piece is very precious, as the entire ensemble of netsuke and ojime are all made with carved red lacquer.